Phineas and Ferb: Chains of Fate
by Tallest Phoenix
Summary: Five summers after the series, the brothers face challenges of a lifetime. A mysterious man comes back from the future to warn them of the near-destruction of Danville. But will it be too late?
1. Summer Day

**My posting this means that it is now… SUMMER VACATION. OH YEAH. It also means that I have now been on this site for over a year. Ah… The memories…**

**One more thing to say before I let you read. COOL GUYS DON'T LOOK AT EXPLOSIONS. We don't. Wanna be cool? THEN STOP LOOKING AT EXPLOSIONS! **

…**Ahem. Yeah. Okay then.**

**This is set five years after the series.**

The two brothers sat outside under a large oak tree in their backyard like they had every summer morning for a long time. Phineas was leaning back, arms folded, onto the trunk of the tree, and Ferb was reading a book.

"Man! I can't believe summer's back already!" said Phineas. "It seems like just yesterday, we…" He drifted off. "Hey… Ferb? Remember those summers we spent doing really awesome stuff?"

Ferb nodded.

It had been years since the two had devoted a summer to anything spectacular, for various reasons. They and their friends had been spread out for the past few summers, never being home at the same time. And there was only so much that could be done without help, or a lack of anyone to share a good time with.

Phineas sighed. "Good times. You know, I really miss those days." He looked up, far away in thought. "Of course, with the stuff we know now, we could probably do a much better job of everything we…" An idea struck him. Phineas sat up straight, gasping. "Ferb! I know what we're gonna do today!"

Ferb gave a slight smile, closing his book. "It's been awhile since I heard that line."

0-0-0

Isabella walked over to the Flynn-Fletcher house, like she did every day, summer or not. Her appearance had changed significantly with age, her raven hair now cut into short layers, but still holding her signature pink ribbon. She had gotten taller as well, and her body, while still petite and underdeveloped, no longer looked like a little girl's. Isabella had grown into quite a beauty.

Despite this, she had yet to have a boyfriend. Many boys had asked, but the only person in the entire world that Isabella was even remotely interested in dating was the one person who would most likely never ask her out. The love of Isabella's life, Phineas Flynn.

Isabella clenched her fist in determination. "Today might be the day! The day when Phineas Vincent Flynn finally realizes, after all these years, that-"

"Hey, Isabella."

She jumped, giving a dear little yelp, then spun around to face the speaker. "Oh… H-hey, Phineas…"

"Who were you talking to?"

"U-um…" Isabella thought quickly for an excuse. "I thought Gretchen was here! Did she run off while I wasn't looking? Grr, the nerve!"

"Oh." Phineas shrugged. "Well, she was probably in a hurry. Maybe you can find out about it later."

"Y-yeah…" She sighed. That was close. "So… Whatcha dooooin?" asked Isabella in her signature way.

"Well, you know those teleporters in Halo? Ferb and I thought it would be fun to build one."

"Can I help?"

"Sure."

They walked further into the yard.

"Hey… Isabella?"

"Yeah, Phineas?"

"Realize what?"

Isabella's brain turned off for about five seconds. Never in her life had she needed to grab a Twix more. "Um…" She was running out of time. Phineas was starting to stare. "Uh… Realize… That… You have a face!"

Phineas blinked, a little surprised by the last statement, then smiled. "Yes. That I do."

"I-it's not like I just noticed or anything!" blurted Isabella. "I just thought… you might like to know…"

Phineas smiled, patting Isabella on the head as he walked off to direct trucks of supplies into the yard. Isabella blushed.

Ferb gave Isabella the '_Awwwww_' grin.

"Oh, don't you give me that look!"

Buford walked into the yard, dragging Baljeet behind him on a leash. The Indian sat, legs folded, on the ground, crossing his arms and scuffing along in the dirt.

"I do not have to take this from you anymore," he pouted.

"But you do it anyway," said Buford.

Phineas waved. "Hey guys!"

"What goes on?" asked Buford.

"We're making a teleporter like the ones on Halo. Wanna help?"

Buford looked down at Baljeet. "What's today look like?"

"Right now, all you are doing is treating me like a dog."

"Then we're in."

Phineas looked around. "Hey, where's…" He drifted off. "Oh."

It had been two months since Perry had gone missing. No matter what they had tried, no matter what song or 'Missing' poster, he just wasn't to be found. After awhile, the family had decided that Perry wasn't coming back.

Buford sighed. "I miss that little ducky thing."

Isabella looked to Phineas, who was looking down. "Phineas? Are you…?"

"Oh…" Phineas sniffed. "I'm okay. After all, Perry wouldn't want us to be sad, right?" The group nodded. "So let's give it our all today! For Perry!"

"Yeah!"

(A/N: OMG, Naruto, anyone? xD)

0-0-0

"We're finally done! Great job, everybody!"

There the teleporter stood, in all its glory.

"Who wants to try it first?" asked Phineas.

Buford raised his hand. "I volunteer…" He grabbed Baljeet from beside him and shoved him in front. "…the nerd."

Baljeet grew wide-eyed, shaking himself from Buford's grip. "Ohhhh, no! No, no, no, I am NOT going through that thing!"

"Why not?" asked Phineas. "It's totally safe. We tested it on rocks…"

"THEY CAME OUT WITH BLACK STUFF ON THEM!"

Buford raised an eyebrow. "What? You afraid of a little black stuff?"

Baljeet sighed. "Yes. Yes, I am TERRIFIED of black stuff."

"But the stuff isn't dangerous," said Phineas. "Ferb already made sure of it."

"Just don't go near any open flames," Ferb added.

"See? Just don't do that and you'll be fine."

Baljeet nodded sarcastically. "Ah, yes, that is VERY comforting!"

"You want me to _make _you go through it?" Buford glared at him threateningly.

Baljeet made a strange squeak, then quickly recovered, pushing his glasses up nervously. "T…That will not be necessary, thank you."

"I thought so."

Baljeet gulped and went through the teleporter, after one last panicked glance to his friends.

They all waited for him to come out on the far side of the yard for about five minutes.

"…Where'd he go?" asked Isabella.

Buford shrugged. "Yeah… I've decided I'm not gonna use the teleporter."

At about that time, Baljeet appeared on the pre-planned spot a few yards away, looking disgruntled.

…And entirely covered in a black, tarlike substance.

Phineas sighed, relieved. "Oh, okay. There he is."

Candace, in the meantime, was busy planning her and Jeremy's wedding. She had grown into a beautiful young woman, and was just going into her last year of college, studying Criminal Justice (she had long since decided that she wanted to have a career in busting people).

Candace had also matured over the years, as well. She was still OCD beyond belief, and had the temper of a raging bull, but she was wiser, and less high-strung. Instead of finding her brothers sources of annoyance, she now acted like a second mother to them, and was willing to be around them more. Candace had, in fact, been staying with them while their parents were on a trip around the world, which would last the rest of the year.

She was now talking on the phone with her friend Jenny, who ran a wedding design business with her older sister.

"And I want the string quartet to go over…" Candace was cut off by loud noise in the backyard. She looked outside and gasped. "I'll call you back, Jen."

There was one thing about Candace that remained unchanged: her burning desire to bust her brothers.

No matter how much more she may have liked them now, it didn't change the fact that her life's dream had been to finally show their mother what the boys really did in their spare time. She would never give up. No matter what.

"What is that?" she exclaimed.

"Baljeet," answered Phineas.

Baljeet waved.

"No no!" Candace pointed to the machine. "I meant that!"

"Oh. A teleporter."

"No, it's not," said Candace. "It's a one-way ticket to Bust-ville, that's what it is!" She dialed a number on speed dial. "I'm calling Mom," she grumbled.

"I thought we were past this," Ferb sighed.

"But… Mom and Dad are in Thailand," Phineas pointed out.

"Thailand…" Candace sighed. "Of course. Okay, you're off the hook 'til they get back. But be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

In her years, Candace had learned that patience was key. It was what earned predators their food, and assassins their kill. It was crucial to wait for the precise moment to strike.

For Candace Flynn, this was not a defeat. It was a postponement.

0-0-0

A man stood in a cemetery alone, the moonlight reflecting off his long, tied-back green hair. The man was dressed in all black, from the long trench coat that spanned from his shoulders to his knees, to the shades he wore to cover his eyes, despite the fact that it was nighttime.

He took out an old, faded photograph of a fifteen year old boy with red hair. He sighed.

"Phineas…"

**Ooh, who is the man? Dun dun dun!**

**If you're smart, you already know. I actually gave it to you, pretty much. **

**HERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO THE STORYLINE:**

**Heights (to show you how tall everyone is… Didn't have to do this, just thought you guys'd like it):**

**Phineas V. Flynn: 5'4"**

**Ferb T. Fletcher: 6'1"**

**Buford VanStromm: 5'10"**

**Isabella M. Garcia-Shapiro: 5'6"**

**Baljeet : 5'8" (has glasses now, too)**

**Candace G. Flynn: 5'8"**

**(Okay, there.)**

**R&R, please.**


	2. I'm Okay

**I wanna write…**

**Ughhh…**

"You still mad about yesterday?" asked Buford.

No answer.

"…Oh, I see how it is. Silent treatment, huh? Well…" Buford cracked his knuckles menacingly, causing Baljeet to tremble. "I got ways'a makin' you talk."

"Okay, okay!" squeaked Baljeet. "I am talking! See? See? Words!"

Buford nodded gruffly in acceptance.

Baljeet sighed. "It took me forever to get all of the black stuff out of my hair."

"_Still _would stay away from open flames," Ferb pointed out.

Baljeet's eyes widened.

Buford grinned, taking out a lighter from his pocket. Bajeet's left eye twitched, and he ran to hide behind Ferb, who remained expressionless.

"…Did you have to go and start something?" asked Phineas.

"I started something?"

0-0-0

_Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated~~!_

"All of the tri-state area will tremble before the might of… HEINZ DOOFENSHMIRTZ!" Doofenshmirtz began to laugh evilly. "And there's nothing you can do about it… Pablo the Potato Sack!"

He had been talking to a potato sack wearing a paper hat, which fell over.

Heinz sighed. "Oh, it's just not the same! I hate to admit it, but I really do miss Perry the Platypus! After all, what's an evil scheme without someone to monologue about it to?"

Meanwhile, his daughter Vanessa walked by, an innocent bystander. Upon seeing her father talking to himself, she sighed. Vanessa honestly wanted nothing to do with him now that she was an adult, but since he offered her a place to stay, and was paying most of her college tuition, the least she could do was stay with him until she was finished with school.

Heinz noticed his daughter's presence. "Vanessa, be a good girl and listen to daddy's latest evil scheme…"

0-0-0

Isabella blinked. "Is Buford really still trying to catch Baljeet on fire?"

"Yeah… We don't really know when he'll stop," Phineas replied, shrugging.

Buford was indeed still chasing Baljeet around the yard with a lighter, the latter running like a chicken with his head cut off.

"You guys!" called Phineas. "Ferb was just kidding!"

Ferb shrugged. "Probably."

"Probably!"

The two stopped running, Buford looking more than a bit disappointed, and Baljeet looking extremely relieved. They both started walking back toward the group.

Buford frowned scornfully, folding his arms behind his head. "It's not like I'd really burn ya or nothin', anyway…"

Baljeet glared. "Then why were you chasing me with a LIGHTER?"

"I was just messin' with ya."

"GRR!"

0-0-0

Meanwhile, a crash was heard in the Doofenshmirtz secret lair.

"Huh? What was that?" asked Heinz, looking around.

After searching briefly, he discovered a pile of assorted junk saved from one of his previous inventions. From behind it rose a cloaked figure, face hidden from a dark hood.

"Hey!" exclaimed Dr. D. "Who are you and what are you doing in here?"

The figure brushed itself off. "Heinz Doofenshmirtz," it said in a ghoulish-sounding, heavily accented voice. "I am you, from ten years in the future."

"Oh, really?" asked Dr. D., unable to hide interest. "Come to warn me of my untimely demise? Because if you are, I'm _fully _prepared." He pulled a football helmet from nowhere and put it on his head.

The future Doof sighed. "No."

"Oh." He removed the helmet. "Whew! What a relief! Okay, okay. Then why _are_ you here?"

"I am here to tell you that by November of this year, you are the supreme overlord of the tri-state area."

Dr. D. pumped his fist. "Yessss…"

"But in order to do that," continued Future Doof, "you must build this giant mecha robot and destroy everything in sight once it's finished."

"Ooh… A Destroy-everything-in-sight-inator?"

"…Sure. Why not?"

"Okay then!" shouted Dr. D. happily. "Hey… You're from the future, right? How long will this take?"

"About-"

"Actually, on second thought, no. I think I want the day to stay a surprise." He turned to Future Doof. "Future self, will you be staying awhile? I just need to know if I'll be needing to make up the guest room or not."

"Actually… I have… Uh, my… my evil empire to run, so I think I'll just… Show myself out."

"Okay, then. See you in the future."

"Uh… Yeah." The cloaked figure dashed from the room.

In a dark alleyway outside the lair, the figure sighed. "He actually bought it."

0-0-0

"Ferb… Are you feeling okay?" asked Phineas.

Ferb nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"It's just that…"

"Phineas," called Isabella from a distance, "Can you help us out with this?"

"…Sure." He turned reluctantly, casting one last worried glance at his brother.

Isabella was quick to notice the sad look on Phineas's face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Phineas sighed. "I'm really worried about Ferb. I think he might be coming down with something."

At least half of the ex-Fireside Girls gasped. "Oh noooo!"

Over the years, Ferb had grown into an object of obsession for most of the girls in their school. Not that… he _minded_, or anything.

Isabella sighed. "You guys…"

Milly grinned. "Association of Ferb Fletcher Fangirls…"

"…unite!"

"… That spells 'afff'," Phineas pointed out.

Ginger snorted. "You guys can have Ferb. But Baljeet is ALL mine!"

Gretchen smirked. "Yet you still ship him with Buford." (A/N: Oh, you fangirls don't think guys know about your little lingo? We DO. Ohhhh, we do.)

"True…"

"What is true?" asked Baljeet, who was now, along with Buford, standing behind Ginger. Ginger yelped.

"And whatdya mean by 'ship'?" asked Buford. "You callin' me a sailor? Sailors piss me off!"

Baljeet sighed. "Everything pisses you off."

"And don't you forget it!"

"Anyway," said Isabella, "I'm sure he's okay."

"I hope so."

Buford patted him on the back. "Hey, cheer up! Wanna see how far I can throw the nerd?"

Phineas sighed. "No thanks, Buford." He walked off, head hung.

Buford shrugged. "Suit yourself! I'm still gonna do it!"

"Ferb…" Phineas started. "What's wrong?"

The older boy shook his head. "Nothing."

"It's not nothing! Are you sick?"

"No."

Phineas made a dejected little face, and turned his stare to his feet. "Why won't you tell me?"

Ferb sighed, patting the short redhead. "Don't worry about it." With that, he walked off, leaving his brother to do exactly what he was just told not to do.

0-0-0

Two men were in a high-speed chase on a closed highway. One was a tall and extremely muscular, with cold, gray eyes and dark hair, and the other was the green-haired man mentioned before.

The people in the other car were clad in all black, face masks covering their features completely, and shaded glasses hided their eyes. They were open-firing at the two.

The muscular man, who was driving, cursed loudly and held an arm out the open window, shooting at the enemy with a handgun. The green-haired man was meanwhile on a cell phone, trying to concentrate on the information being given to him despite the chaos going on around him.

A few more shots were fired, just as the first car barely dodged a pile of fallen debris. The muscular man drew his arm in quickly. "Damnit!" He turned to the other man. "The hell're you doing? Help me out here!"

"Shut up and drive!"

"Then you understand what you are to do?" asked a voice with a heavy Indian accent on the other end of the phone.

The green-hair nodded. "I do."

He pressed something on his watch and disappeared all at once, the very instant before the car lost control and ran off the side of a bridge.

**Dun dun dun!**

**Okay, if you don't know who the three guys were, I should seriously go crawl in a hole. I practically gave you their names. And… for that, I guess I should go crawl in a hole anyway. But I find this sort of thing very interesting, so I figured you might too.**

**And what IS wrong with Ferb?**

**Ferb: … (shifty eyes)**

**Buford: HE'S AN ALIEN!**

**Ferb: … (hits him with an aluminum baseball bat)**

**Phineas: …Where'd you get a bat?**

**Ferb: **_**I'll **_**never tell.**

**By the way, my friend actually founded an 'Association of Ferb Fletcher Fangirls." She herself actually pointed out the fact that it spells 'afff'.**

**FLASHBACK**

**Her: It spells AFFF!**

**Me: …Aff?**

**Her: No! Afff! You have to hold out the 'fff' sound.**

**END FLASBACK**

**And… yeah. That's… She's actually accepting members, if anyone wants to join. I'm really curious as to how many people do. She threatened to- I mean, wanted to, make t-shirts. **

**Sigh. The girl needs help.**


	3. Brother, Mine

**This chapter is the one in which we find out what's wrong with Ferb. And, spoiler? He's not sick. The point is that Phineas thinks he is, thus adding an element of dramatic irony.**

Ferb hadn't slept well in a very long time.

Phineas's real father had been an abusive drunk who beat his mother mercilessly almost every night, and Candace every now and then. He had left just after Linda had gotten pregnant with Phineas, and came back a few days before the boy's first birthday. He had seemed like a changed man, playing with the kids like any normal dad. He practically begged Linda to take him back, and Linda actually believed he had reformed.

She was a different woman back then. Highly gullible.

It wasn't very long before he went back to his old ways. Linda took the most of it, and Candace tried her hardest to keep her brother out of harm's way. She hid under the table holding him, trying to block the screams from his little ears. She was seven years old.

One night, it failed. Their father had beaten Linda to the point that she was lying on the ground, a slight twitch the only sign that she was still alive.

The man stood over her, yelling at her to get up.

Candace tried her best not to cry, holding her tiny brother close to her. Phineas caught a glimpse of Linda on the ground, and got scared. What was wrong with his mommy? She needed help.

So, not knowing what would happen to him, the little boy squirmed out of his sister's arms and toddled over to where his parents were.

Candace let out a gasping squeak, reaching for her brother, but realizing with some desperation that he was too far already. "Phineas, no…!" she whispered.

Phineas shook his mother gently with his tiny hands. "Mommy… Please… Wake up…" His small voice trembled with concern.

The man got very angry upon noticing Phineas. "You little brat!" He slapped the little boy as hard as he could, knocking him down. Phineas started to cry, as would any child, and his father took that as a challenge.

Candace cried, eyes wide, covering her mouth in anguish.

_He'll kill him!_

With whatever consciousness Linda retained, she heard her child's cries and snapped back into full focus. She immediately leapt to her feet and grabbed a nearby lamp, sending it crashing into her "husband's" head.

"NO ONE HURTS MY BABIES, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The man fell like a ton of bricks. Linda panted for a few brief moments, then leaned to pick up her son, holding him in her arms.

"Candace, honey… Where are you?"

The little girl crawled out from under the table, wiping her eyes. "H…Here." She ran to her mother, who held her close, along with the half-conscious body of the tiny boy.

Linda immediately called the police to arrest the man, only to find out that he was dead. She started crying, praying for her children.

She had sent Candace to stay with her old friends, the Garcia-Shapiros, while Phineas was at the E.R., making sure that he was okay. Fortunately, he had no life-threatening injuries, only a mild concussion and some bruises, neither of which were severe enough to affect him later on. And emotionally, Phineas also seemed perfectly alright. He didn't seem traumatized in the least, and was able to go on happily as he always had, playing with little Isabella, who as usual, followed him around like a duckling. The adults and Candace doubted whether he was old enough to even understand what was going on.

Luckily, Linda wasn't convicted of murder. It was obviously self defense, and the entire process with the police was just a formality. She was able to go home to her children quickly, and they all lived with the Garcia-Shapiros until everything sorted out, since Linda refused to take her kids anywhere near the old apartment.

Ferb's mother's name was Layla. From what he could remember, she had long, dark hair that was almost always held up in a clip, and wore glasses that she was always losing. She was a very kind woman, a little ditsy, and always had a smile on her face. She was the one who started calling him 'Ferb', for reasons still unknown.

Ferb had always thought she would've gotten along well with Linda.

Unfortunately, that was about all he remembered about her.

Other than… Well, the night of her death.

Ferb clearly remembered waking up to hear his father speaking to someone downstairs one night when he was about three. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but from the tones of their voices, it wasn't a pleasant topic.

After awhile, Lawrence came up and sat on Ferb's bed. He told the boy how his mother was killed in a car accident. Ferb could have cried, like a normal child.

But Ferb Fletcher _did not _cry. He never had in his entire life. It just was something he didn't do.

The next thing he knew, he was at his grandparents' house while his father struggled to manage his wife's funeral, and the like.

Eventually, his dad got a job in America where his friend Linda lived. They were going to move into the house across from the one she was staying in, in fact. Ferb was told that Linda had a son around his age.

Ferb was curious about the boy, and wanted to meet him. He had been mostly antisocial for the majority of his life, and had never really been around other children his own age.

Their first meeting was one to remember. It was awhile after the move, when their parents had first started dating, and Lawrence had sent Ferb over to be watched by Isabella's mom.

After he had been thoroughly confused by the Latino woman's light-speed chatter, he was led upstairs to where Phineas was. Isabella was out at a friend's house for the night, so she wasn't there.

Phineas was playing with blocks in the corner of the room. He didn't seem to notice the other boy's presence quite yet, and Ferb took advantage of that. He stood silently, right where he was, watching.

After a few minutes, Phineas glanced up slightly, just noticing that Ferb was there. "Oh. Hey." He smiled. "I'm Phineas."

"Ferb."

Phineas raised an eyebrow. "Your name is _Ferb_?"

Ferb blinked. It wasn't as if he wasn't used to that reaction. Still, it wasn't exactly _un_-awkward.

Phineas shrugged. "Oh well. My name's weird, too, so it's okay."

Ferb nodded, and went back to staring at the small structure that Phineas was building.

"Oh, this?" asked Phineas. "I'm building a tower. Even though… In real life, this sort of material would never withstand even a little wind. Then again… Depending on the position and weight of the bricks, gravity _might _just keep everything in place."

Ferb had honestly never even heard of another preschooler who thought… Well, pretty much at _all_. The main reason that he didn't care much about being in the company of other children his own age was that they were all so… immature. Most of them would have no idea what 'withstand' even meant.

"What do you think, Ferb?" asked Phineas.

Ferb nodded.

Phineas laughed. "You don't talk much, do you?" Ferb shook his head. "That's okay. My sister says I can talk enough for two people."

From that moment on, the two were inseparable. Finding out that they would be brothers was probably the best news either of them had ever received.

Over the years, Ferb had grown into the protective older brother. He was completely wrapped around Phineas's finger. _Anything_ Phineas wanted, he got, not that he really took advantage of that. And it was absolutely impossible, no matter what happened, no matter how badly Phineas messed up, for Ferb to even get slightly mad at him.

The bond between the brothers was strong, even though they weren't related by blood. So strong that they almost had a supernatural connection.

Which was why the dream had bothered him so much.

Every night for at least the past month, Ferb had been having the same reoccurring nightmare, in which his little brother, the one person whom he loved more than anyone else in the world, was gravely wounded in an accident.

The dream was extremely realistic, almost _too _graphic not to be real. The worst part was that when he woke up, Ferb could recall every detail of it, as though it had actually happened.

It always started the same way. They would be walking together, on a city street. Phineas would be happily chattering away, about what, Ferb didn't know. This part of they dream was always soundless.

Then all of a sudden, there would be black. Then it would flash to Phineas bleeding on the ground, crying, pleading for help. Ferb would try to reach out to him, only to discover that he couldn't move. He was forced to sit and watch his beloved brother suffer, unable to do anything to help. He couldn't even _hold _him, couldn't wipe the tears from the boy's precious sapphire-blue eyes. He tried to say something to him, to find that his mouth was also frozen in place. He was stuck.

Phineas would somehow manage to turn himself over, so that he was lying on his stomach. He would stare pitifully up at Ferb, reaching out for him like a baby wanting to be picked up. Ferb knew exactly what he was getting at. Phineas wanted to be held. His small body was in pain, and all he wanted was to be consoled. The one thing Ferb couldn't do.

After no response, he would start to crawl. Ferb didn't want him to hurt himself, but at the same time, he silently rooted for him. He watched his little brother struggle, stopping a few times to either catch his breath or to deal with the pain.

_Go on. You can do it._

Ferb desperately hoped Phineas would reach him, to at least be able to lay his head in his lap, to feel the warmth of human contact and at least be comforted by that alone.

But he never did.

Phineas stopped about halfway, clenching his eyes shut, grabbing at the ground in agony and defeat. Ferb never would stop cheering him on in his mind.

_You're halfway there. Don't give up. _

Then came the worst part. Phineas would look up, miserably, and cry, with a confused and hurt look on his face. He didn't know that Ferb wasn't able to go to him. He had no way of knowing. He was in pain, and he just wanted to know why his big brother wasn't helping him. Didn't he care?

_Of course I care about you. If I could hold you, I would. But I can't._

"_It h… hurts… Please…"_

It was maddening.

That was usually about the point where Ferb woke up, gasping, trying to choke back screams. He would always panic, unable to calm himself until he saw Phineas, safely asleep a few feet away. Then he would usually go over and sit on the edge of his brother's bed, watching him sleep until he was one hundred percent certain that the redhead was alright. The first time he had the dream, Ferb even picked him up and held him, both to reassure himself, and slightly to make up for what he couldn't do in the dream.

He never told Phineas about the dreams. He didn't want his brother to be troubled by his own insanity, if that was the right word (although Ferb was more than sure it was).

After awhile, he stopped sleeping altogether. He just couldn't put up with having to go through that every night. He could barely remember the last time he actually slept, but he knew that it would have had to be before school let out.

Phineas didn't know about that either. He honestly thought Ferb was sick, and he probably never stopped worrying about him. Ferb hated to make his brother worry like that, but he didn't know what else to do.

Did that make him a bad brother? He knew that he was a horrible brother in the dream… Maybe it was his subconscious trying to warn him about it. Phineas, on the other hand, was the best little brother in the world. He was perfect in every single way, and Ferb knew he didn't deserve him. He honestly didn't know of anyone who did.

These were the last conscious thoughts of his before collapsing of exhaustion.

**Oh wow. I actually made myself tear up a bit while writing the dream sequence. I was like, "GO LITTLE GUY GO!"**

**And before I get reviews asking me if somebody can stay awake that long, my conclusion is this:**

**In JTHM, Nny never sleeps. JTHM is a work of fiction. This is a work of fiction. **

**Ergo, if Johnny C. can go years without sleep, **_**Ferb F.**_** can go a few weeks. That's how I see it.**

…**Then again, Nny's a little… Weeeooo.*twirls crazy loop around temple, crossing his eyes* And I don't think Ferb hallucinates… *looks at Ferb***

**Ferb: …**

**Gopher in lederhosen: *dramatic look***

**Ferb: STOP FOLLOWING ME! DX**

**Phineas: …….. Who… Who are you talking to? oAe**

**Candace: Finally! I'm not the crazy one in the family anymore! Huhuhuhuhuhu! *runs off, a bit TOO happy***

**Buford: Yeah! That stupid gopher won't leave me alone, either! **

**Ferb: It's ANNOYING! DX**

**Phineas: o.0 *leads Ferb away quietly***


	4. Insomnia

**Does anybody know of an animal that starts with an 'X'? I was trying to make a list of animals with one for every letter of the alphabet… And whoever named the xylophone should be hanged for the crime of being an overall jackass, because no one cares THAT MUCH about an underused instrument to learn to spell it.. **

**But still. I like X. It's cool. It's even a good name for an anime character. Still, there are NO words that start with it.**

**-FLASHBACK-**

**Me: Anaconda… What starts with 'B'?**

**My friend Chris: Uh, BEAR. (sarcastically)**

**Me: Oh, yeah, duh. Bear. Chicken, Duck, Elephant, Flounder, Gorilla, H… H… HIPPO. Iguana, Jackalo-**

**Chris: Those don't really exist, dude.**

**Me: Shut up Chris, I hate you… Kangaroo, Lion, Mouse, Narwhal, Owl, Platypus, Quetzal, Rrr…rhinoceros, Sloth, Turtle, Unicorn-**

**Chris: Aren't real.**

**Me: I said shut up, Vulture, Walrus……………….. o__0**

**-END FLASHBACK-**

**Anyway, enough on my meaningless life. I'll letcha go on reading.**

"FERB!"

Phineas ran to his brother, reaching him the second he hit the ground. The others dropped what they were doing and formed a crowd around them.

"What happened?" asked Isabella, concern showing in her voice.

"I… I don't know…"

Buford left to get Candace.

Ferb stirred slightly, blinking his eyes open.

"Ferb… Are you okay?" Phineas asked. Ferb started to sit up. His brother put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Don't-"

Ferb promptly removed the hand, sitting up all the way. " 'm fine," he assured.

"What happened?"

"I tripped."

"You were _unconscious_."

"I was?" asked Ferb. Phineas nodded. "Mm. Must've hit my head."

Phineas shook his head. "That's a lie." He looked Ferb dead in the eye with a sad, pleading face. "…How long have you been sick, Ferb?"

"W… No! I'm not-"

At that point, Candace arrived. She immediately knelt down beside her brothers. "What happened?" she asked with genuine shock.

"Ferb passed out," Phineas answered.

Candace nodded. "I'll go start the car. Can you walk?"

Ferb sighed. "I'm _fine._" He stood up, brushing himself off. "And I'm not seeing a doctor."

Phineas tugged on Ferb's arm. "Please…"

Ferb sighed. There was no way he could ever say no to _that _face. "Alright. But I'm already telling you, it's a waste of time and money."

0-0-0

"_I don't see anything unusual. Cell count is normal, no infections… There is one problem, though. Your brother is suffering from a sever lack of sleep. I doubt he's had any rest at all for weeks, perhaps even a month."_

Ferb was then unwillingly forced into a weeks' worth of bed rest, by mostly Phineas, but with enforcement by Candace.

"_You're not allowed to leave this room unless you have to go to the bathroom! And don't lie and tell me you do and then sneak out, 'cause I'll know. Oh, I'll KNOW."_

She had nothing better to do, so she was more than likely telling the truth.

Now he was stuck, lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling. As exhausted as he was, Ferb still willed himself not to sleep. He was too afraid of what he might dream about. The doctor had given him sleeping medication, but he refused to take it. Nearly sixteen years old, and afraid to go to sleep. He laughed at himself.

Ferb heard the door creak open. He looked over and saw Phineas entering the room.

"Still can't sleep?" he asked quietly.

Ferb shook his head.

Phineas nodded, starting to leave. "Okay."

"Stay."

Phineas turned around. "Hm?"

Ferb nodded, pointing to the edge of the bed.

_Right here._

"Okay…" He sat down on the place his brother was pointing to. "You know… I'm glad you're okay. Sorry for freaking out like that." He sighed. "I just… don't know what I'd do without you. I mean, a brother is a brother, and th…" He noticed that Ferb had fallen asleep. "Okay… So much for that." Phineas smiled and fell back on the bed, closing his eyes. It wasn't long before he was asleep, as well.

Candace walked in to check on Ferb, to see her two brothers curled up together like kittens. She almost died of the cuteness, and wanted to take a picture. But alas, her phone was dead.

Finally, she decided that she needed to wake Phineas up, though it broke her heart to disturb the scene. Candace tiptoed over and gently shook the sleeping redhead's shoulder. "Hey," she whispered. "Wake up."

Phineas groaned, squirming closer to his brother and away from Candace's hand.

"Why don't you go downstairs for a bit?" she asked, in a motherly tone. "He needs rest."

Phineas nodded groggily, following Candace out of the room.

0-0-0

The green-haired man stood outside a house in Danville. Not the Danville he lived in now, but the one he grew up in. The safe, peaceful town he remembered, that died along with his precious little brother, and his own innocence.

He couldn't suppress a smile as he gazed at that old two-story, yellow house. He knew that just up the stairs of that house was the room he once shared with his brother, and that the yard outside had a tree, under which they both spent summer after wonderful, spectacular, logic-defying summer of their childhoods. He also couldn't help but remember how empty they both were for the first few weeks, if not still.

But it occurred to him that neither were empty now.

0-0-0

Phineas lay flat on the ground staring at the sky. His face was, unlike usual, completely expressionless.

Isabella walked up to him, bending over to face him. "Whatcha doin?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Not until Ferb's better."

"Okay," said Isabella, understandingly. "But don't just sit there staring at the sun. That's not good."

"Yeah," said Buford. "You don't want glasses, do ya?" He yanked Baljeet's glasses off, holding them away. "See? This is all you gotta do to keep him from seein'."

"GIVE THOSE BACK!"

"What're you gonna do, huh?"

Baljeet sighed. "I will give you a cookie."

"… Buford likes cookies." He placed the glasses back on Baljeet's face. "Now you owe me."

"Okay."

"Don't you forget it, either."

"I _won't, _Buford."

"'kay then."

Phineas sat up, noticing a green-haired man walking through the gate. "Who's that?"

The man walked around as though looking for someone. Phineas got up and walked to him. "Can I… help you?" he asked.

The man looked shocked upon seeing Phineas. He stood just staring at him for a few minutes, taking in every detail he saw, until he finally took Phineas into a bone-crushing embrace.

"Phineas… you… Oh, God…"

Phineas blinked, just a bit freaked out. "Uh… Okay…"

The man pulled back, holding Phineas by the shoulders and staring into his eyes. Phineas knew there was something familiar about him. He stood there, taking in the man's features. He had green hair, yet, in spite of that, also had thick, dark eyebrows. His eyes were intense, and an impossibly light shade of lavender.

Hadn't Phineas just seen that same face, only younger, asleep upstairs?

It hit him all at once, and he gasped.

"Ferb?"

**Such a short chapter. But I though this was a good cliffhanger.**

**And yes. I envision Ferb with Iggybrows. (If you haven't watched Hetalia, look up 'Arthur Kirkland', aka Iggy, on Google images to see what I'm talking about.) Maybe it's 'cause Arthur's British? IDK… I just do.**


	5. Ferb?

**Oooh! Ferb is a growed-up… XD**

**I know we're eventually going to St. Louis, but I don't know when. I like riding the subway… Those of you who live in the city might hate it. But I live in the boondocks. The fact that I've even seen a subway is amazing. I remember the first time I got on one, when I was 9. I remember asking, "These ACTUALLY EXIST?"**

There was a long silence within the group.

"…Ferb?" asked Isabella.

The older Ferb nodded. "Now, however, I'm known as Agent F."

No one in the group was really amazed that someone from the future was standing in front of them. The thing that was on their minds was… well…

"Cool!" exclaimed Phineas. "So you're from the future, huh? What's it like?"

"Are there really flying cars, or did the Jetsons lie to us?" asked Buford.

"Stop crowding, you guys!" said Isabella. She took the older Ferb off to the side, and whispered to him. "So… Where you're from… Do you have… like… A sister-in-law? Possibly someone in this yard?"

"…"

"Is that a… yes?"

"…"

"No?"

The older Ferb walked back to the others.

"Hey! You never answered me!"

"So what brings you here to the past, Ferb?" asked Phineas.

"Nothing good, that's for sure."

"What do you mean by _that_?"

F sighed. "At the end of this summer, the entire world will be at stake. All the countries of the earth will fall under a cruel dictatorship, and every major city will be a rundown wasteland, starting with Danville. We were all members of a secret underground intelligence agency-"

"Like the CIA?"

"No. Not like the CIA. Better."

"Oh… cool."

"After the agency was shut down, we started a rebellion against the evil empire."

"…And… How does that work out?"

F sighed. "I'm afraid we're losing the battle."

"_That _sucks," said Buford.

"More so than any vacuum cleaner known to man," agreed F, shaking his head.

"Then you're here to stop all that from happening?" asked Phineas.

He nodded. "I got here by using this."

On F's wrist was a watch. At a distance, it would appear just a normal digital watch, the kind one could find at a store. But a closer look would reveal that instead of just the hour and time, the face also displayed a day, month, and year.

"Cool…"

"Did you two invent it?" asked Baljeet.

F shook his head, grinning slightly. "_You_ did."

Baljeet gasped and made a face like a fan girl who ran into Edward Cullen at Wal-Mart. "Really?"

F nodded. "Unfortunately… It only goes one way. To the past."

Buford flicked Baljeet. "FAIL."

"Oh, suck it! I do not see _you _making devices that can travel through time!"

"It's not that it couldn't have gone forward in time," corrected F. "Being stuck here is just… making sure that I can't just give up and leave. Not that I would, anyway."

"So how will you get home?" asked Isabella.

"I won't. If the past is corrected, then I'll cease to exist. Well… At least, the way I am now."

"So I'm helping my brother cease to exist... Something just doesn't sound right about that." Phineas shrugged. "Oh well."

"No," said F. "You're not helping."

"What? But…"

"_None _of you are. Kids like you could get hurt."

Buford frowned. "_Man!_ People really do get boring with age."

"But… We've never been hurt doing stuff like this before," argued Phineas.

"I know. It's never too late to start."

"But… We're a team," said Phineas. "You can't just go and do this without me."

"Phin…"

"Please…" Phineas stared at his brother with sad puppy eyes. F sighed. There was no way he could ever say no to _that face._

F patted his brother's head. "Alright. If it means that much to you."

"Really?"

"But be careful."

Isabella raised her hand. "If Phineas goes, I'm going!"

"And I will go, too!" said Baljeet.

Buford shrugged. "Eh. I got nothin' better to do."

F started to argue, but sighed, defeated. "Fine. You can all go."

"Yeah! Saving the world!"

"Yay!"

"Alright!"

F sighed, muttering something under his breath that sounded something like, "I hope Fireside Girls know first aid…"

"So… If you didn't want our help… Why did you come to see us?" asked Phineas.

F paused, then looked away. "Nothing. No reason."

"So… Where do we go first?"

"Doofenshmirtz Evil, Inc.," answered F.

"Doof… Huh?"

"That building in town that looks suspiciously like the side of our father's head."

Phineas nodded. "Oh…"

"That's where all the evil started." F pushed his shaded glasses on. "But first… We'll need to contact an associate of mine. He should be in this area now."

"Who is he?"

"Agent P."

0-0-0

F led them to a large building surrounded by a barbed wire fence. It was an intimidating place.

"Where are we?" asked Phineas.

"This is where I work." F paused in thought. "Rather… _Will _work. Technically, I'm not supposed to be here yet."

"Is that why we're sneaking in?" asked Isabella.

"… Technically, it's not sneaking in. It's more like… breaking and entering."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yes. Yes it is. But it's also my profession."

"Oh."

F, Phineas, and Isabella continued on. Buford and Baljeet stayed behind a few paces.

"I wanna be a secret agent when I grow up!" exclaimed Buford happily.

Baljeet sighed. "How did I know you would say that?"

They found themselves in a busy lobby. People, along with (surprisingly enough) various animals, were hustling about with stacks of papers, phones, and fedoras.

"Where do we go from here?"

They eventually wandered into an empty room with a single chair in front of a large screen.

A ginger man with huge, nerdy glasses and a white coat ran up to them. "Excuse me. Are you all allowed to be in here?"

F shoved him aside and continued walking.

"Hey!" shouted the ginger. "You can't just-"

F took out a badge, shoving it in the man's face. The man looked more than a bit startled. "Take me to Agent P," F commanded.

"I'm sorry, but he's in a restricted-"

F cut him off with a cold glare. The other man jumped.

"S… sir!"

A middle-aged man with white hair and a thick moustache showed up on the screen. "Carl, what _is _it? I'm trying to watch _The Young and the Restless_…" He stopped, noticing the people watching. "Oh. Ahem. Hello."

"This guy wants to see Agent P, sir."

"I'm sorry, sir," said F. "It's a matter of life or death. The fate of the world rests with your decision."

"Hey, he's got an accent!" said the man on the screen excitedly. "That's really, really cool."

F sighed. "Please, sir. If you will, try to focus."

"Oh… Okay. Sorry." The man cleared his throat. "Are you part of The Agency?"

"I am."

"Huh. I've never seen you before. What division are you from?"

"Yours, sir."

"What's your name?"

"Agent F."

The white-haired man raised an eyebrow. "F? Carl!"

"There… aren't any F's in our records, sir."

F nodded. "That makes sense… I'm not from this time. I join this agency two years from now thanks to Agent P, an old family friend."

The man nodded. "I see now…" He grew serious. "You're working as a spy for Doofenshmirtz! Carl-"

"Sorry to interrupt, sir," said F, "but that is the single most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. Why would I ever work for Doofenshmirtz?" He narrowed his eyes in hatred. "_Him_ … He was _ultimately_ responsible for my brother's death."

All the teens gasped. Phineas blinked, wide-eyed, in shock.

"…What?"

**It's gotta suck to learn that you're gonna die. Like totally just suck. 0.o**

**I call our kittens P&F names. The orange one's Phineas, the white-ish gray one's Ferb, the gray one's Candace, the calico's Isabella, and the two fluffy black ones are Buford and Baljeet. The Buford one bites. Hard. DX**


	6. The New Millenium

**I've had "Monochrome Ward" by Len and Rin Kagamine stuck in my head… A very scary song. It has no real background music, mostly just al capello with some sound affects, like heart monitors and out-of-tune music boxes. The lyrics don't make much sense, either… "walking on gravel is very noisy"? And then there's the part where they keep repeating "their corpses will be switched"…**

**For those of you familiar with it… You know what I'm talking about. It's even worse than "Circle You Circle You", but at the same time, I like it better. I first watched it on Halloween.**

Phineas stared up at his brother. "Ferb… Is that why you…?

F looked away.

"It… _is_. That's the real reason you came back."

"…Not… the _only _reason."

Isabella looked on the verge of tears, and Baljeet put a hand on her shoulder. Buford shook his head solemnly.

Carl blinked. "Wait… Phineas and Ferb?"

"Yeah…" said Phineas. Then he made the connection. "Carl?"

"And you're Carl's dad…"

The older man cleared his throat. "Ahem. That's a… highly classified story. My name is Major Monogram."

"But aren't you both, like, 15 now?" asked Carl. "Why's Ferb so old?"

"Well… The Ferb in this time just turned 16. But _this_ Ferb's from the future," explained Phineas.

"Oh."

"Well then," said Monogram, "You really do seem to know Agent P. We can let you in to see him for a short while, but there's no telling if he'll be awake or not."

"Thank you, sir."

"And JUST you two. The last thing Agent P needs in this condition is a huge crowd."

"Awww…"

The brothers followed Carl away.

"…Ferb?" said Phineas.

F turned in notice.

"About what you said… What…" Phineas stopped. "Never mind. So… Should I know Agent P?"

"Yes," answered F. "But you won't recognize him."

0-0-0

They entered a room with white walls, a linoleum floor, and a hospital bed in the center. Lying on it, hooked up to several machines, was a short, blue-haired man with an innocent, boyish face.

"Perry."

"Wait…" Phineas stared up at F. "Perry? As in… Our Perry?"

F nodded.

"But… how?"

Monogram had met up with them, and decided to answer. "Years ago, Doofenshmirtz invented a ray that could turn any human into an animal. He ended up transforming half of our entire department into a zoo, and was about to use it on the people of the tri-state area. That's when we decided to send Agent P to stop him as his first ever assignment. He was able to stop Doofenshmirtz, but at the cost of being turned into a platypus.

"At this point, we assigned him a host family, to give him an identity as a mindless household pet. We also discovered that animals can be trained as secret agents, if taken in young enough. And they don't require a salary!"

Phineas nodded. "Oh, that makes sense. Still, why is he human again?"

"He was severely injured on his last assignment. That near-death experience must have somehow triggered a reaction in his system that turned him back to his original form."

"What happened to him?"

"He…" Monogram looked up awkwardly. "He was hit by a truck shortly before returning home."

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah… It's not very action-y. It's just bad luck."

Perry moved slightly in his sleep. He blinked open large brown eyes, and looked up at the others groggily.

"…Perry?" asked Phineas.

Perry's eyes widened upon seeing Phineas. He quickly turned to Monogram.

"It's alright, Agent P. They already know. Apparently, it's a matter of global security."

"Are you okay?" asked Phineas.

"He can't talk," said F. "He's mute." He turned to Perry. "Perry. I'm Ferb, from ten years into the future. I need to ask you something."

Perry stared up, attentive.

"How do you get into the Doofenshmirtz building?"

F gave Perry a pen and a pad of paper, which he took weakly.

**There's a door.**

"I know that."

…**Just go through the door. Not locked.**

"… Really?" F sighed. "No security or anything?"

**Only platypus-sized traps.**

"Oh, that's just stupid."

**The enemy isn't too bright either.**

"I gathered that… Phineas."

"Hm?"

"Are you ready to go?"

Phineas nodded. Before leaving, he turned around to wave at Perry. "Get better soon, okay?"

Perry smiled.

The brothers were now walking alone through the hallway. Neither of them spoke.

Surprisingly, F was the one to break the silence this time. "… Are you alright?"

"Sure," said Phineas. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"That was… a lot to take in," replied the elder.

"… Maybe a little."

"I'm sorry for not telling you sooner," he added.

"That's okay." Phineas continued walking. F put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Stay." He turned his brother around to face him, then put his other hand on the other shoulder, staring directly into his eyes. "Don't worry. I'm here now. I promise you, I won't let you get hurt."

Phineas nodded. "I know." He closed his eyes, smiling. "I trust you, Ferb."

"Then you're not afraid?"

"… Maybe a little."

F pulled his brother into a one-armed hug. "Don't be."

0-0-0

Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz yawned melodramatically. "Ahhhh, I haaaaaate this!"

He was working on the Destroy-everything-in-sight-inator, as he had been nonstop for the past two days.

"When will this thing get finished?" Dr. D moaned. "Ah! It's not even halfway!" He sighed. "Perry the Platypus isn't even here to thwart me… It's a little boring."

The door slammed open. Dr. D. looked up quickly.

"Perry the Platypus?" It wasn't. "Oh, no… It's some man and a little teenager… Don't get my hopes up like that!" He sighed. "Well, what do you want?"

"You're Doofenshmirtz?" asked Phineas.

"Yes, yes I am," he answered. "And wait, how did you know that?"

F took out a gun, pointing it at the man.

"Whoa, hold on just a second! What's with that thing?" Dr. D. asked, panicked.

"Where is she?" asked F, calmly.

"Where is who? I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Of course you don't," F replied sarcastically. "All my brother and I came here to find out was her location. Once you tell us that, we'll leave."

"Okay, okay!" Doofenshmirtz sighed. "…Who was she again?"

F sighed, losing patience. "In ten years, _she _helps you take over the tri-state area."

"She did? Oh, that was nice of her…"

"Then _she _got the idea to take it from you and spread her dark empire across the entire _world_!"

Doofenshmirtz frowned. "Hey! She can't do that!"

"Our job is to stop her."

"Yeah! All right! Go get her!" cheered Dr. D. "…You know… wherever she is."

"Maybe..._she_'s… really not here," suggested Phineas.

"Yes!" agreed Doofenshmirtz. "Listen to the boy! That's what I've been trying to tell you!"

F sighed. "She's a grown woman. She could be living anywhere by now."

"What should we do?"

F ran a hand through his bangs in frustration. "We need to talk to Baljeet."

"Yeah," said Dr. D. "You go talk to this Baljeet!"

"Baljeet?" asked Phineas. "But… What would Baljeet know?"

"No. The Baljeet from my time."

"Oh. But how're we gonna get to the future?" asked Phineas. "The time machine in the museum?"

"The future, huh?" asked Doofenshmirtz. "You know, I happen to have a Timetravel-inator downstairs that you can use."

"Wow," said Phineas. "That's very… nice of you."

"Oh, no problem. Just make sure you stop _her. _That's _my _dark empire!"

"Okay… Come on, Ferb."

"…"

"Uh… Ferb? You can… put that away now."

"… Right."

0-0-0

After going through the Timetravel-inator, they both found themselves in a dark, desolate building. The air was damp and held a faint scent of decay.

"Are you alright?" asked F.

Phineas nodded. "Yeah…" He looked around, taking in what was once Doofenshmirtz Evil, Inc. "So… This is the future."

"Actually… This is probably the nicest part."

"Wow…"

F sighed. "We'll have to get back to headquarters… But it won't be easy explaining to everyone why we're here." He smiled. "Still. I can think of at least one person who'll be happy to see you."

The smile faded almost as quickly as it appeared, leaving F expressionless once again. "Stay where I can see you. You may want to keep your eyes closed and let me lead the way."

Phineas shook his head. "No… I think I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so."

"Alright. But I warned you."

The outside world was, as promised, much worse than inside the building.

There were totaled buildings lying in piles of rubble, bodies left to decay without even being moved. Phineas wondered with a shudder how long they'd even been there. He walked, slowly, through the rubble, until something nearly tripped him. Looking down, he saw what it was, instantly realizing that to look was a mistake.

It was the bullet-torn body of a child, no older than five.

The sight was too much. Phineas shuddered violently, then fell to his knees and vomited.

F knelt down beside him, placing a hand on his back. "Still think you can 'handle it'?" he asked.

"G…..God…." Phineas shook, wide-eyed. "What happened here?"

"This part of town was ambushed nearly a week ago," F answered. "It held hundreds of refugees, mostly innocent people with families. The empress got word of this and sent troops to massacre all of them."

"Why?" Phineas asked, looking up. He was shocked, upset, more so than F had ever seen him. "Why… How could anyone do something like this to _people_?"

F sighed. "I don't know."

Phineas was still innocent. Before now, he had had yet to witness the evil of man, or know of the tragedies of the world.

"She…"

F took Phineas in his arms, hugging him. The boy broke into sobs.

"Sh… I know…"

"I… j-just…"

"Shh…"

There was a sound of heavy, tapping footsteps. Metal against the gravel of the road. F looked up with a start.

"Damn it…"

Phineas looked up as well. "…What is it?" he asked.

There was a spider-like android with a single lens eye coming at them.

"It belongs to the empress," answered F. He took his brother by the wrist, pulling him up, then dragging him along as he ran. The thing continued to follow them.

"Can't we get rid of it?" asked Phineas, still running.

"There's no use. She already knows where we are," answered F.

"Then what do we do? Keep running?"

"We have to lose it." F yanked Phineas into an alley. "This way."

They crouched, panting for awhile.

"Is it gone?" whispered Phineas.

The same metallic footsteps were heard. F put a hand over his brother's mouth, forming the words 'Don't move' with his lips.

The thing rounded the corner, and the two held their breaths.

A figure appeared and stepped on it with a loud crunch, just before it had the chance to turn and notice them.

"Letting a girl save your ass again, huh Ferb?" asked a woman's voice. "Hope this isn't gonna be a pattern from now on."

F sighed heavily, as if getting a headache. "Isabella."

A beautiful woman with long dark hair and red lips stepped out from the shadows. She wore a gray tank top, shorts, and boots that went up to her thighs. With one look at Phineas, she gasped.

"…Ph… Phineas?"

**Future Isabella… Wow. xD**

**As for her appearance, think Aeon Flux, in that episode with the boy in the cave and the fat baby.**

**If you don't watch Aeon Flux… Just come up with something on your own.**


	7. This Ugly Yet Beautiful World

**Aaahh, okay. Watching Paranormal Activity right before bed. Probably NOT the best idea. It sucked right up til the end, but that chick……. She KILLED the dude. Flippin' KILLED him, then went right up to the camera and went 'RAWR!'**

**I hate being startled like that……..**

It had been about three hours since he had last heard from Phineas. He woke up, and… he just wasn't there.

Ferb had asked Candace where he'd gone, and she told him that he went somewhere with Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford, and would be back soon. And… to go back to bed.

Ferb decided that he'd had enough rest for the day, and snuck out through the window. He didn't bother to set up any decoys to trick Candace into thinking he was still there, figuring that as crazy as Candace was, she probably was bored of checking on him by now.

He walked to the town cemetery. While most would consider that creepy, Ferb just thought of it as a quiet place to think. The dead were the only people who never disturbed anything.

There was a soft breeze: not enough to justify wearing a jacket (as he was), but enough to move a few leaves, thus further setting the mood. Other than that, the place was still.

"Boo," said a voice. Ferb jumped slightly, turning around.

There stood a young goth woman with long brown hair. She was pretty, with penetrating brown eyes, and dark, almost black, lipstick that stood out from her light skin. Ferb had known (and secretly loved) her from the fourth grade. It was Vanessa.

"Did you think it was a ghost?" she asked. "I don't think I've seen you jump that much… Actually, I don't think I've seen you jump at all."

Ferb blushed briefly from embarrassment, then turned back around.

"So… Do you _usually _go hanging around in graveyards, or is there something going on?"

"…A bit of both, actually."

"Ah," said Vanessa. "I'm gonna ask, but I think I already know the answer… Wanna talk about it?"

Ferb shook his head. "Not particularly."

"Want me to leave you alone?"

"… Not particularly."

Vanessa nodded. "So… Did somebody die?"

"No."

"Girl troubles?"

"No."

"… Did a zombie break into your house and eat your family?"

"No."

Vanessa sighed. "I give up."

"My brother," answered Ferb.

"Oh. What's wrong with him?" asked Vanessa.

"If there was anything, I wouldn't know." Ferb sighed. "He went off without telling me."

"When was that?"

"Today."

"Okay… And that bothers you?"

"It _shouldn't."_

"But it does," said Vanessa. "Why? You don't like not knowing where he is?"

Ferb sighed. "It's… never _happened _before."

"Well…" said Vanessa. 'From what you've told me before, he sounds like a pretty good kid."

"That just means that he doesn't know what there is to hurt him."

Vanessa shrugged. "Maybe… he's just growing up."

Ferb sighed. "Maybe."

0-0-0

Isabella stood staring at them for a time, then dropped to her knees and hugged Phineas.

"I… I don't believe it," she stammered. "I thought… you…" Isabella held him tighter. "Oh, Phineas! I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Yeah… This was about Ferb's reaction, too…"

"Oh, I missed you so much…"

The sound of metallic footsteps rang out again.

"We have to move," said F.

Isabella nodded. "Right."

They came to a hole in the side of the alleyway that was covered by an old piece of wood. F pulled it aside, ushering Phineas through the crack. From there, they walked through a shallow passageway until they saw a light at the end.

On the other side was a small room, roughly the size of their living room at home. Light flickered from a small fluorescent bulb on the ceiling, from which Phineas could see the contents of the room. Two couches with the upholstery coming off in several places sitting opposite each other were placed on the walls, and between them was a small table crowded with food, bottles, magazines (the gun parts AND the books), and anything else, to the point of not being able to see the surface of the table.

The room was in overall terrible shape. There were holes in the walls, with ratty grey wallpaper peeling off, and the ceiling looked close to collapsing. Phineas was almost afraid of falling through the floor.

"Home sweet home," remarked Isabella.

"I suppose Baljeet's hiding out like a mole as usual?" asked F.

"You supposed right," answered Isabella. "I'll see if I can't find him in all those stacks of papers." With that, she left.

"What happened to Isabella?" asked Phineas. "She's… different."

"Ten years of hell," F replied. "Think of it this way: Aeon Flux was once a cute little girl."

Phineas nodded. "Oh." He looked up at F. "Is this why you never let me watch that show?"

"…That and other reasons."

At that point, a man rolled into the room, sitting backwards on a computer chair, at high speed. The chair got caught on a crack in the floor, and fell, landing the man flat on his face.

"OW!" He stood up, pushed the chair back a ways, then tried it again, with the same result. Then he repeated it.

"… Should we… y'know… try to stop him?" asked Phineas.

"Actually… I kind of want to see what happens next."

After awhile, Isabella walked out from behind the man and sighed. "Baljeet, stop trying to make a cool entrance. You already failed. Now it's just getting sad."

"Aww… But I almost had it!"

"No. I think you've lost it."

Baljeet stood, brushing himself off. "Ah…" He had on all black, save for a white lab coat, and his dark hair now fell in waves just past his shoulders. He looked up at the brothers, raising an eyebrow upon seeing Phineas. "Hm? Oh… I see. You two have come back. Back… TO TH-"

"If you try to make a movie title reference, I WILL hurt you," said F sighing.

"Right… Sorry…" Baljeet returned his attention to Phineas. "The real question is… Why are you here?"

"We need information," answered F. "You're usually the one to go to for that."

"I am. What kind of information are you needing?"

"The empress. Anything you've got on her."

"Hmm… Well," said Baljeet. "I can only learn so much in this time… Take me back to the past, and perhaps it will be easier."

F nodded. "That can be arranged."

"I'm coming too," said Isabella. "I miss the old days."

"What was originally going to be a short one-man mission is now turning into a field trip…" F sighed. "I suppose now you'll both be coming along?"

The other two nodded.

"Is there anything else you'd like to see in the future?" Isabella asked Phineas.

Phineas laughed slightly. "Not really."

"I didn't think so."

With that, they all reached out, touching the watch, and disappeared.

0-0-0

They arrived in the past soon, and found themselves in the basement of an apartment building surrounded by boxes.

"Hm… So this is what it looked like before we moved in…"

"How do we get out?" asked Phineas. "The hole's gone."

Isabella grinned, picking up a nearby metal beam. "We could make one."

F frowned. "No."

But she ignored him, slamming the bar against the wall until it gave out, revealing the tunnel. Isabella smirked. "Let's go."

After a short walk, they were outside. "Where do we go now?" asked Baljeet.

"I'll take Phineas home," said F. "Your future selves are probably still at the Agency. Once you get them, meet me back here, and we'll discuss living arrangements for tonight."

The others nodded, and the two parties went opposite ways.

The brothers walked for awhile without talking, until F spoke up.

"There's something you should know about Isabella," he said. "Something you really should have known by now."

"What is it?" asked Phineas.

There was a long silence.

"Are you going to tell me?"

"She loves you," F stated, as if it were an obvious fact.

Phineas blinked. "…W… Wha? She… Huh?"

"I thought it would have been obvious," said F. "She's been in love with you from the moment you both met. She even told me herself."

"When?"

"About a week before your death. Tragic, really." He looked his brother in the eye. "And how do you feel about her?"

Phineas blushed. "I… I _like _her, but…"

"Then why don't you make a move?" Phineas turned bright red, looking away. F smirked, patting him on the head. "That's cute." F sighed. "In adulthood, you'll find that these things become much more simple."

They now were in front of the house. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Or… inside, technically," Phineas pointed out, grinning.

"…Right."

Phineas walked in…

…to find his brother waiting for him right behind the door.

**Ooh.**

**And sunsetofdoom-san. Now YOU must hold up YOUR side of the deal. Wink wink.**

…**..I have a kitten munching on my toe. What DO you want, earth feline?**


	8. Which Would You?

**My kitten is playing with a ball. It's cute. He wants attention…**

**Listen… About that typo from earlier… Uh, yeah. It wasn't 'your future selves', it was 'your past selves'. Sorry.**

"Oh… Hey, Ferb," said Phineas.

"Where were you?" asked Ferb.

"Um… Nowhere."

"Nowhere?" Ferb raised an eyebrow. "It's impossible to be nowhere. And you weren't here. So where were you?"

"We were all…" Phineas sighed. "You might not believe me if I told you without proof. But REALLY soon I'll show you. Okay?"

Ferb sighed, nodding.

"So… What'd you do today?" asked Phineas.

"Not much," answered Ferb.

"GOOD!" Candace called from the kitchen.

0-0-0

F and Baljeet were in the data room of the Agency, scanning over information. They had been at it all night, and were getting close to nowhere. All the files said that she did in fact live where they had originally thought. Which meant that they had wasted much-needed time.

At this point Perry walked in, in jeans and a long-sleeved t shirt, apparently well again, even after just a day. F took notice of this.

"Up so soon?" he asked. "Did you have help?"

Perry nodded. He produced a small bottle of blue pills, and tossed them to F.

"You don't really need these any more, do you?" asked Baljeet, leaning over the back of his chair lazily.

Perry shook his head, pointing at a note taped to the bottle that read 'Just in case', written in his own perfect handwriting.

"That reminds me," said Baljeet. "How is it with the Phineas thing?"

"Don't know," F replied. "Why?"

"The computer here says that it is the third."

F shoved him aside, frantically grabbing the computer screen to read the date on the bottom right-hand side. "Damn it…!" He stood up. "We have to find them. NOW!"

Perry nodded, standing up as well.

"Baljeet, STAY HERE." Baljeet nodded.

The two ran like madmen until they reached Perry's car.

"Damnit damnit damnit….."

Perry looked at F as if to ask, _Where are we going?_

"I…" F ran a frustrated hand through his bangs. "Let's see… Right before the accident, we…"

0-0-0

Phineas Flynn was now stacking his chicken nuggets into a little tower. His brother watched him for a short while, then, using his thumb and index finger, flicked the tower, knocking it down.

Phineas stared at him, mouth agape. "You _killed _it!"

Ferb made a slight, catlike grin.

"This is kind of boring," he stated.

"I know," Phineas agreed. "But we still haven't decided what else we want to do today."

Ferb gestured to the city around him.

Phineas sighed. "I know. But… We usually turn days like today into something… you know… logic defying."

"Exactly. We usually do." Ferb leaned back in his chair, then looked over at his brother. "Just doing things differently is enough to be logic-defying, correct?"

Phineas sighed, nodding. "I guess so." His phone started to ring. "Hello?"

"_Phineas."_ The voice belonged to F. Its tone was urgent. "_Where are you?"_

"We're in town," Phineas answered. "Why?"

F sighed heavily, as if calming himself, and mumbled something like a curse under his breath. "_Phineas, listen to me. Are you listening?"_

"I am."

"_Don't ask why… But if anything happens today, ANYTHING… I want you to save yourself. Don't worry about what happens to me. Do you understand?"_

"W… What?"

"_Yes or no, Phineas?"_

"I…" He swallowed hard. "Yes. I do, but…"

_Click._

Despite being hyperactive and slightly ADD, Phineas was extremely bright. He knew exactly what was going on. His brother was trying to warn him, without scaring him, not to sacrifice himself in some kind of tragic accident.

This was supposed to be the date of his death.

In any other case, the warning would have been helpful. In any other case, he wouldn't have been so afraid, so devastated.

But in this case…

… his survival meant that Ferb would die.

Phineas sat there in complete shock, shaking, with wide eyes.

"Who was it?" asked Ferb.

"B… Buford," he stammered.

Ferb raised an eyebrow. "Did he say something to upset you?"

Phineas shook his head. "N-no…"

"Then what's wrong?"

"My…" Phineas fought hard for an excuse. "My head… really hurts."

"Hmm." Ferb felt his brother's forehead. "You don't have a fever… Want me to take you home?"

Phineas nodded. Of course he wanted to go home. Home was safe. Home meant that neither of them had to get hurt.

0-0-0

Doofenshmirtz threw his arms into the air with glee. "Yes! It is finally finished!"

He pressed a button, sending his invention into the city. Sure, it took out the nearest wall on its way. But he figured that with complete rule over the world, he would be able to replace it ten times.

0-0-0

Phineas's mind was clouded with too many signals from too many places. He looked up at his older sibling, thinking about how he was the only one to really understand him. He thought about how much he loved and looked up to him.

He also thought about how much the feeling was returned. He considered how much he didn't want Ferb to have to go through the pain of losing him. But he didn't want to have to go through the pain of losing Ferb either.

Phineas didn't want to die. But… Life without Ferb _would _be death.

Apparently, his misery was more than obvious. "You don't look well," said Ferb. "Are you alright?"

Phineas nodded, though far from it.

"I can carry you."

"No… That's okay."

Phineas was now faced with the ultimate decision: his life, or the life of the person who meant the most to him.

Which would you choose?

**Dun dun dun!**

**Sorry…. Woulda updated earlier, but was delayed. Thanks to friggin Miku Hatsune! DX (lol)**


	9. Farewell Song

**One of the most heart-breaking chapters of the fic. It tells the past of Agent F.**

**If you wanna cry, look up "Saihate (CLEAR version)" and listen to it.**

_There was the sound of metal crunching and glass shattering. The last thing he felt was being shoved onto the rough pavement before blacking out for a few seconds._

_When Ferb came to his senses, he looked around frantically for his brother. After a minute or so of desperate searching, he saw something he would have never have thought he would see, and wished he wasn't seeing now. _

_Ferb had found Phineas._

_But it turned out that he didn't want to._

_For there under a pile of debris lay his perfect, adorable, wonderful little brother, mangled and bloody like a dead bird._

_Ferb didn't blink, didn't breathe, for a long time. He didn't remember running to Phineas's side, or pulling him out, but apparently he did. _

_Ferb had managed to remove the worst of it, but there were still shards of metal and glass sticking out of his skin, which Ferb was too afraid of hurting him to pull out. _

_Phineas's chest heaved from the effort it took to draw air into his lungs. His eyes blinked open and saw Ferb, then a smile fell on his lips. The sight was heartbreaking._

"_Ph…Phineas…" Ferb's voice shook. _

"_H-Hey…"_

_Ferb took his hand, trying to find the right words to say to comfort him. _

_Phineas gave a slight laugh. "I must look pretty bad… for you to make a face like that."_

"_W… Why did you do that?" asked Ferb._

"_We're brothers," answered Phineas. "You'd do the same thing… Right?"_

_Ferb squeezed his hand. "Of course."_

"_You… okay?" asked Phineas._

_Ferb smiled, tears in his eyes threatening to fall. "Don't you ask me that."_

_Phineas coughed, a waterfall of blood gushing out. Ferb gasped, propping him up to a sitting position._

"_Are you alright?" asked Ferb, knowing the answer._

_Phineas smiled weakly. "It… hurts," he admitted._

_Ferb took him into his arms, gently rocking. "I know."_

_Phineas took a few more shuddering breaths, looked up at Ferb, and smiled. He whispered something that Ferb couldn't quite hear, and fell back, as if asleep. The smile never left his lips. _

There was a loud sound. People were screaming, running away from the source.

"What is that?" asked Phineas.

A giant robot was crashing its way through the city. It shattered a window overhead, sending glass and other shards of broken material. Ferb grabbed his brother, shielding him from it.

"That was close!" said Phineas, sighing. Ferb nodded in agreement, unhurt.

_The funeral was torture. First of all, the sky was too clear. _

_No rain to hide any tears._

_Too blue._

_Just like his eyes were._

_Too sunny._

_Just like Phineas._

_To make things worse, this was the sort of summer day that they would usually pick to do something amazing with. Ferb realized that this would have probably been his brother's wish, but regardless, it was still like rubbing salt into a wound._

_Everyone knew to leave Ferb alone before, during, and directly after the service. He had been completely silent since the accident, but it certainly wasn't the usual Ferb-silence everyone was used to. Unlike before, Ferb seemed entirely apathetic to anything that was going on. If anyone tried speaking to him, it was obvious that he was ignoring them. He was miserable, and everyone knew it._

_Ferb stood in the back, alone, mind still foggy from taking everything in. Phineas was gone. __**His brother **__was __**gone**__, and he was never coming back. Not only that, but it was all his fault. _

_Ferb heard a voice in the back of his head. It was his voice from when he was younger._

_**What happened?**_

_I don't know._

_**How could you let him die? You were supposed to protect him.**_

_I…_

_**You were supposed to keep building things together. Forever. **_

_I tried…_

_**You failed.**_

_Shut up…_

_**You were supposed to be the older brother.**_

_Shut up!_

_**It's all your fault.**_

"_SHUT UP!"_

_People were staring at him. Ferb realized that he had screamed it out loud. Frantically, he started running. Linda tried going after him, to be halted by Lawrence's hand on her shoulder._

"_Let him go."_

The two agents drove frantically around despite all the chaos. They were both equally determined to get the brothers home where they would be safe, and neither would stop until they either found them or knew for certain that they had failed.

It was only a few more meters or so until F yelled, "THERE!" pointing outside the vehicle.

Without allowing Perry to fully stop, he opened the door, running. Perry attempted to get him to slow down, but knew it was already no use.

_Ferb kept running until he finally just fell to his knees, gasping for air. He looked up at the sky._

"_I'm sorry."_

_He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked to see who it was._

_Above him stood a man around Candace's age with blue-green hair. He wasn't very tall, and probably could have passed for younger than Ferb himself. However, he had a certain maturity about him that could have let him pass for fifty, despite his appearance._

"…_Who are you?" asked Ferb._

_The man just stood there. This struck Ferb as odd; as generally silent as Ferb himself was, he would at least give his name when asked. There was a fine line between mysterious stoicism and looking like a mindless git, after all._

_Then Ferb realized that the man couldn't speak. It was so obvious, it was almost like a slap to the face._

"_You're mute, aren't you?" asked Ferb. The man nodded._

_He pulled out a small notebook and a pen, wrote something on it, then handed it to Ferb._

_**My name is Perry. Perry P.**_

_Ferb did a double-take. Perry? It was all too coincidental. _

"_Perry?"_

_Another reply._

_**Yes. I've… known your family for a few years. **_

_Ferb raised an eyebrow._

"_So you mean to tell me that you used to be a platypus, and now somehow you've become human?"_

_The man sighed._

_**It's a long story.**_

As the machine knocked out several more buildings, the only thing that was on Ferb's mind was to get his brother to safety. Nothing else mattered: not even his own life.

An overhead beam creaked, about to give in. There would be no time to run. Ferb tensed, ready to feel the pain of impact, all the while thanking God that Phineas was out of the way, praying that he wouldn't have to watch.

But he was.

Phineas knew he had a decision to make. And he had to make it then.

_**I know who killed your brother.**_

_Ferb gasped. He grabbed Perry by the collar. "WHO?"_

_**The name doesn't matter yet. What does is that I can help you stop him. For good.**_

He knew what he had to do.

He just hoped that Ferb would forgive him.

**LE GASP!**

**Hmm…. Would I sacrifice myself for my brother? ….Yeah. Yeah I would. I think pretty much anybody would, unless they were, like… Sasuke, or Inuyasha, or somebody. The brothers always do that in the games and anime. Like Edward Elric gave up and arm and a leg (literally) to save Alphonse, and in Mother 3 (Earthbound… Whatever), Claus killed himself because he wouldn't hurt Lucas… I mean… It's genetic.**

………**.Izzy please dun kill meeee…. ;_;**


	10. Old Radio

**Oh my God, you guys. Sorry if this is awkward to read, but I wrote this chapter out of sequence, before chapter one, even. See, this ties in to the whole time travel thing, too. Eh? Ehhh?**

**By the way, random fact, my favorite Idolmster girl is Yayoi. Haha, yeah, yeah I put that in there to keep you from getting to the good part. Knowing me I probably put a cliffhanger on the last chapter, and now you may hate me. Oh, what the hell? You might not even read these things.**_** I**_** do, but I'm not you.**

There no words describing the fear in both of the Ferbs at that moment. The present-day one, the fear of the unknown, and the adult, fear of repeating his own history.

The older Ferb gathered himself after a few moments, and ran to help his brother. The scene was almost identical to the one F remembered, but from an outsider's point of view. He saw himself, holding the injured redhead in such a loving, protective way that it was impossible to describe.

The younger Ferb stared at the man in front of him with a look of great surprise, almost fear. He knew instantly who the man was, with emerald hair, and dark eyebrows over pale eyes, an older yet exact reflection of himself. Unlike most others when faced with this sort of event, Ferb was beyond questioning 'how?' His own life experience had robbed him of that. The only question running through his mind upon seeing his older self was 'why?'

However, the older Ferb took almost no notice to him. He immediately went to helping Phineas, who apparently had already known about and spoken to him.

"I c-couldn't do it…" croaked Phineas, tears creeping over the edge of his eyelids. His lip quivered slightly, out of both pain and immense guilt for messing up.

The older Ferb stroked his brother's cheek lightly. "It's not your fault."

"I-I just…"

"Shhh… You'll be alright. We'll go get Perry, then we'll take you to the hospital. Don't cry…"

Present-Ferb blinked, staring at his older self. _Perry?_ Hadn't he run away not long ago? And besides that, what good would a platypus do in that sort of situation?

The older Ferb turned his attention to his semi-reflection. "Carry him and follow me," he commanded.

"…Right."

He was led to a silver car, with a blue-haired man sitting behind the wheel. Upon seeing them, the man looked close to horrified.

"Calm down, Perry," sighed the older Ferb.

Ferb blinked in astonishment before turning to face himself. "Perry's somehow human, then?" he asked, in an unsurprised, almost bored way.

"A long story."

Ferb sighed. "The first of many, I suppose."

The ride was difficult, in more ways than one. To began with, it was obvious to both Ferb and his older counterpart that neither of them would sit in the front. Since they were the same person, they both felt the same instinctive need to be near Phineas at this time of crisis, and they were also both intelligent enough to infer this on their own, wordlessly understanding that they would need to find a way to both fit in the back.

They ended up with Phineas lying with his head propped up against the door, held in the fold of the younger Ferb's elbow, and his legs held in F's lap. It was uncomfortable and only possible because Phineas was so small. But it worked, nonetheless.

Phineas stayed calm, and was surprisingly quiet, save for long, rasping breaths. He smiled sleepily up at his brother. "Sorry about this," he said quietly.

"Rest."

F was working to remove the smaller shards from his brother's skin. Most of them were easy to pull out, but there were a few, such as the one piece of metal lodged in Phineas's lower left abdomen, that would have to be left in place.

There were other problems, of course, but the most urgent one at the moment was the bleeding. No matter how hard F tried, there was no stopping it. The blood was already beginning to soak through the towel F was using to staunch it.

Ferb's main job was keeping Phineas awake and comfortable. He held his brother's hand, rubbing small circles into it with his thumb, all the while whispering words of comfort.

Ferb noticed with horror that blood had now soaked through the front of his own pants. How much of it had Phineas lost? He felt a terror like never before in his life.

"W… What's happening?" he asked, wide-eyed, to himself.

F shook his head. He mouthed 'Don't scare him.'

Ferb nodded, turning his attention to Phineas, who was now only softly panting. "How are you feeling?" he asked shakily.

Phineas smiled weakly, the most he could manage. "Bad," he admitted.

"I know," said Ferb sympathetically. "Just hang on unt-"

"I… can't."

A pause. "What?"

"I can't," Phineas repeated, smiling sadly. "I… just _can't_ anymore."

"Oh… Oh, _Phin…_" Ferb looked heartbroken—No. He _was _heartbroken_._ "I know it hurts, but…"

"I'm _sorry_…"

Ferb gathered his brother into his arms. One look at the boy could tell anyone that he wasn't going to make it. He had a few minutes left, at most.

F turned away, unable to watch his brother die a second time. Perry leaned against the window, trying to block out the sound.

Ferb stroked his brother's sweaty hair. "Is there… anything I can do?"

Phineas wrapped his arms around Ferb, burying his face in his chest. "Smile."

Ferb blinked at the request, so inappropriate in the current situation.

"You don't… really smile much… anymore. I miss it."

Ferb nodded, and smiled, like requested, but of his own will.

_You __**would **__ask for something like that._

The innocence of his own little brother amazed him. Phineas could make the brightest day on earth seem foggy in comparison.

He smiled back, and fell into his brother's arms. Eyes closed, he murmured something into Ferb's chest that was all but inaudible.

The world, in Ferb's eyes, was now colorless, like an old film.

**That was so damn sad. **

**If you haven't guessed yet, I'm a brother myself. A twin. Younger, but still. So most of this was drawn from "WWJD". "What Would Johnny(me) Do?" **

**And at the same time, I had to work my ASS off to keep it in character. IT'S HARD WRITING FOR FERB! DX **

**Even if, like me, you have a similar personality to a character who's very complex, like FERB (Dx), you'll still (hopefully) have at least one difference from them, and that difference, like me and Ferb, could be enough to make it very difficult not to go all OOC, like I hope Ferb ISN'T.**

**And Phineas… Actually pretty easy to write for. Just make sure you go with happy and innocent, and not all Naruto-ish. Phin's naïve, not dumb. And I don't think he knows what a temper IS.**

**Phineas: Um… Is it… a breed of lla-yeah, I have no idea.**

**Ferb and Candace: …We love you anyway. =A=**


	11. It's No One's Fault

**OHMYGODISWEARIDIDNTKILLHIM! I SWEAR IT! **

**F: (has gun to my head)**

**Me: I DIDN'T. Dx**

**F: … **

**Me: (sigh) I swear to God, I did not kill Phineas Flynn. Are you happy?**

**F: I'm never happy. =.=**

**Current song: "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton**

**F: AHA! D:**

**Me: Wait, wait! That's just on my playlist!**

**F: Oh, I'm SO sure!**

**Me: (sighs, switching it to random Khmer music my dad has)**

**F: …… (glare) **

**Me: (shrugs) Teresa Teng.**

They had barely gotten him to a hospital in time. A second later would have meant his death. The doctors claimed he would be fine, but no one was yet allowed to see him.

Ferb sat directly outside the door, a total wreck. However no one, perhaps not even his own father, could have possibly noticed. To them, he was the same as always, to some, even more of a prop than a human being. To them, he was taking this extremely well.

The truth was, he was about to fall apart from the inside.

Before Ferb knew it, Candace had run up in a panic, throwing her arms around him. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Ferb nodded.

"Have you seen him yet?"

Ferb shook his head.

With a better look at Candace, one could easily tell that she wasn't exactly 'okay' either. Her long, auburn hair was in total disarray, a look of extreme panic on her pretty, stress-ridden face. Ferb could have sworn that she'd aged ten years since that morning when they left the house.

Candace sighed in frustration, running a hand through her hair, before turning on Ferb. "You two! You finally did it! After all these years, you two just _kept on_, and now look! I just _knew_ somebody'd get hurt one day. Knew it!"

Ferb stood up, starting to leave. Of _course _Candace would blame them. She had always been the type to go around pointing fingers. Why couldn't she just accept that some things were accidents?

Of course… Ferb _had_ let Phineas get hurt. He agreed that he deserved to take the blame, but he still wasn't going to sit there and listen to her chew him out.

"Wait." Candace sighed. "I… I'm not blaming you. It's just… easier to rant about it, y'know?"

Ferb gave a slight nod.

"I'm going to go call Mom and Dad," said Candace, getting up.

Almost as soon as she'd left, F came and sat in her place. "Well. Now that _she's_ gone…"

"You came to save Phineas," Ferb stated. "And that's why you're here."

"Mostly," answered F.

"And to stop the world from being taken over."

"We really are the same person. How long did it take you to guess that?"

"I had it all along, really." Ferb sighed. "And I suppose you had to explain it to Phineas, Isabella, Baljeet, and Buford."

"I did," replied F. "How did you know about the others having a part in this?"

"I didn't. You just told me." Ferb paused. "Really, that _would _explain where he went yesterday."

"Right."

There was a long silence. Then the younger Ferb just, out of nowhere, started laughing.

F blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I'm _beside _myself…" He then broke into another laughing fit.

"I get it. But why is that so funny?"

"I don't know," answered Ferb, calming down some. "Hysterics?"

"Perhaps."

A young nurse came out. "Are you Phineas's brothers?" she asked.

F nodded. Ferb sort of shrugged. Well… It was _technically _the truth.

"You can see him now."

She led the two on.

"That wasn't _too _painfully long," said F. He smirked. "Maybe that random laughing fit was a good distraction."

Ferb shrugged. "It's like our cousin says: Insanity _can _solve problems."

0-0-0

The older Isabella was now sitting on the edge of her younger self's bed with said younger self in her arms, moping.

"So… You're telling me… that Phineas is dead, and the world… is pretty much _gone_?"

Older Isabella nodded.

"And I… and Ferb…"

Older Isabella sighed. "ONE time. That was ONE TIME."

Isabella sulked. "It's official… I wanna die…"

"Little me…" sighed Older Isabella.

"I'm gonna hang myselfff…"

"Little me."

"Or maybe slam myself into a knife over and over again like Rika from Higurashiiii…"

"Little me!" older Isabella yelled, grabbing her past self by the shoulders. "Calm down! We all came back to the past to fix this, remember? None of it will ever happen."

Isabella sighed. "Well… Okay. And at least I grow up to be really pretty."

Older Isabella laughed. "Thank you!" She hugged her past self. "And you'll see… Nothing bad's gonna happen."

0-0-0

It was almost too much to see him like that. Phineas was asleep, much more still than normal. Both Ferbs knew for a fact that Phineas moved around a lot in his sleep, often making faces and even speaking. There was also the one time that they were in a car at night, on the way to their grandparents' house, and he had all of a sudden started laughing at full volume, scaring the hell out of everyone in the car, including Ferb, and almost ran their father off the road.

To see him like that… It was unnatural.

F stood back a bit, and Ferb quietly ran to their brother after the initial shock had worn off. He gently placed a hand on Phineas's bandaged little arm.

Even the light contact was enough for Phineas to blink his eyes open. He was dizzy and tired, his chest and stomach aching beyond belief. It took him awhile for his eyes to come into focus, and once they did, he was able to see his older brother's worried face above him. Phineas smiled, weakly trying to reach up. Ferb took his hand, affectively stopping him.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Ferb noticed that Phineas's eyelids were fluttering, in an attempt to stay open. One could easily tell how weak and exhausted he was, and how hard he must have been trying to fight off sleep, even just after being awake a few seconds. Like a little child who didn't want to go to sleep yet.

Ferb sighed, moving his other hand to the boy's forehead. "Rest. Healing takes energy."

"…Okay."

At that moment, Candace entered the doorway. She gasped upon seeing who was obviously the older version of her brother. Now would be an excellent time to bust them… But after seeing the truly sweet scene before her, and the pitiful shape of Phineas, she decided to let it slide this once.

**Awwwww. That was nice of her. And see? I didn't kill him!**

**SIDESTORY (Mildly Crackish)**

**OCs: Sebastian and Stan**

Sebastian Schultz is the son of Lawrence Fletcher's best friend, a scientist living and working in Brazil. He loves his father's work, almost as much as going out and exploring new things, particularly the rainforest. He is an enthusiastic, hyperactive, and slightly slow-witted person who typically does things before thinking or even asking permission, and honestly believes that "insanity solves a lot of problems."

Stanley Schultz (or just Stan) is Sebastian's older brother. He is very lazy, and typically very quiet (but less quiet than Ferb). He enjoys video games, manga, and anime, and dresses in the goth style of clothing. Usually, he ends up getting yanked around by a scarf, tie, or any other kind of neckwear, by his brother.

…Like today.

The two had recently moved back to the US with their mother, and now lived just down the street from their 'cousins', Phineas and Ferb. The closeness was enough to excuse visiting one of them in the hospital… right?

Well… it would have, if only Sebastian had had the good sense to pay attention to where they were going, instead of getting sidetracked.

He had been leading Stan around by, this time, his wrist.

"Wow… This is just like on House M.D.!" he shouted.

Stan sighed. "Quiet down a little."

"Oh, sorry. Or… Or maybe, like one of those scary movies where the nurses are all crazy and they try to kill the patients! Like… "Monochrome Ward" or that thing in Silent Hill!"

Stan sighed. "Seb-"

"Is there a mental ward? I wanna see crazy people!"

Stan covered his brother's mouth with a hand. "Sebby. Two things. First off, those nurses in Silent Hill had nothing to do with what you just said. Second… We're freaking lost."

Sebastian looked around. "We're lost?"

"No. Lost would be just missed a turn. We're FREAKING lost."

Sebastian laughed nervously. "No problem… We'll find our way!"

Stan sighed. "Why do I doubt that?"

(STAY TUNED FOR MORE ON THEIR EPIC SAGA NEXT CHAPTER)


	12. Snapping point

**I AM PISSED OFF at WORD. It won't let me open my OTHER chapter 12… Which I'd like to point out was going to be revised and edited ANYWAY, but still. So please alert me if this chapter ends up being bullcrap, because it was typed on anger.**

**And unfortunately, the sort of anger that will be present until… (goes off and watches Higurashi for 2 hours) Okay, I'm good now. **

**I've been comparing members of team future to the NCIS team. F is Gibbs (definitely), Buford's… DeNozzo, I guess. Isabella's Ziva, and Baljeet is a strange, strange Abby/McGee mix… oAe**

The next few days were nerve-wracking. Phineas was almost never awake, and whenever he was, he was so high on pain medication that he couldn't form a complete sentence.

The good part was that he was never alone, even if that meant defying every rule the hospital had.

One of the ignored rules was that no one was allowed to sit on the edge of his bed, a rule that Ferb openly defied everyday, and was doing at the moment in question. It was also one of the rare occasions on which Phineas was actually awake and at least semi-lucid.

"Unhhh… Bored…" he moaned, flopping back onto the bed melodramatically.

"Hm? Oh…"

Phineas looked up. He had noticed that his brother had been rather distant lately, as though he was thinking about something very important. Still, he hadn't brought it up, because Ferb usually wasn't the type to like talking these things out.

But it was starting to bother him.

"…Ferb… What's wrong?"

It took Ferb awhile to answer. "…Nothing."

"You're lying." Phineas frowned. "I can tell when you're hiding stuff from me."

Ferb sighed. "It… doesn't matter."

"That's a lie, too," said Phineas. Then he made that God-awful, irresistibly pitiful little face. Every time his brother made that face, Ferb wanted to scream in frustration. Did he _know _how cruelly unfair making _that face _was? "Please, Ferb… Why don't you tell me anything anymore?" He looked as though he was about to cry.

It was then, after days of extreme emotional torment, exhaustion, and guilt, Ferb finally snapped.

"Fine!" he yelled. "If you really want to know! I've just been worried out of my mind for the past… _whenever_! I _never _sleep, and worst of all, I let you get hurt! I fail _not only _as your brother- _older_ brother- but as a human being, and quite frankly, _I'M SICK OF IT!"_

After his rant was finished, Phineas made a face far more pitiful than the other, causing Ferb to instantly wish he'd never said anything.

"I… I'm sorry," said Phineas quietly, starting to cry.

Ferb sighed. _Great job, Fletcher…_

He wanted to apologize, but feared making matters worse. Instead, he just hugged his little brother close, rubbing his back. "I shouldn't have yelled."

"N… No," said Phineas. "I didn't have to push you like that." He sighed. "I just… I worry sometimes, y'know? It seems to me like you're always hiding something nowadays, and… Sometimes I feel like I don't know you any more." He started freaking out a little. "I mean, what's your favorite song? Is it still 'Shut Me Up'? And what about your real name? Is-"

"_DON'T _say it out loud."

Phineas grinned. "Sorry."

Ferb sighed, patting his brother on the head. "You don't have to worry about anything any more."

0-0-0

About an hour later, Phineas had fallen asleep again. The door creaked open, and in walked, to Ferb's surprise, Vanessa.

"A little birdie told me you'd be here," she said.

Ferb smirked. "Would that be the Long-necked Basketcase?"

Vanessa laughed. "Good one."

She and Candace were both taking the same classes at college, and had been roommates for their first two years. They were exact opposites, and almost never got along. Still, they were pretty close friends, and spoke to each other at least every other day. When Candace had called, freaking out over her brother, Vanessa decided to check in and see how they all were doing.

"So this is Phineas?" she asked. Ferb nodded. "He's cute."

At that moment, F walked in, noticed Vanessa, and without saying a word…

…pointed a gun at her head.

**Okaaaaaaaay, he's crazy now. O.o**

**And now for…**

**Adventure time with Sebastian and Stan**

**Episode 2**

"Okay!" said Sebastian. "I think we can get to the room by following this map!"

"You drew that yourself," Stan pointed out. "Two minutes ago. With crayon."

"Or _did _I?"

"You signed your name."

Sebastian gasped. "FORGERY!" He began rolling up the map. "I guess we'll have to work towards solving that later. But for right now, our main goal is survival!"

"…survival?"

"We'll have to scavenge for food!"

"There's… a snack machine right in there…"

"Fight off wild animals…"

"…What?"

"We'll have to huddle together for warmth!"

"… Don't get all incest-y on me…"

Sebastian put an arm around his brother, pointing at the sky dramatically. "Come, brother! Let us begin our epic struggle! TOGETHER!"

"…….Where'd all these stars come from?"

"Stan shut upppp…" Sebastian said in the same happy tone, not even looking.

(STAY TUNED FOR MORE NEXT CHAPTER)


	13. Daughter of Evil

**AHHHHH I THOUGHT I'D NEVER UPDATE!**

**Just…. Higurashi…. And my other fic…. And NCIS… And Vocaloid…**

**(Note: This next chapter is not for little children. May taint young minds. So, uh… YE BE WARNED! Cos I ain't changing the rating, fo sure. DX)**

"What the FUCK are you DOING?"

F raised an eyebrow at his younger self. "What am _I _doing? WHAT AM _I _DOING? This…" He motioned to Vanessa. "…_woman_," he said, as though forcing himself not to say something worse, "…is responsible for ruining the ENTIRE world, and destroying life as everyone knows it today."

"That sounds harsh… You sure about that?" asked Vanessa.

"Yes, I _am_ 'sureof that'!"

Ferb narrowed his eyes. "Put it away."

"Never."

"Vanessa, get out of here."

"Wh-"

At that moment, Ferb stepped between the gun and Vanessa, holding it in place over his own heart. "Put. It. Away."

F glared at him. "Move."

"I won't."

F pressed the gun further into his own chest. "You think I care enough about my own life not to pull this trigger? Trust me, I won't hesitate."

"Then why are you?"

"I _will _send a bullet through you and into her."

"It won't work."

"How do you know?"

"How I know this isn't a twisted way of committing suicide?"

F had had enough. "This gun _doesn't exist yet._ It was designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests, it can go through _two _people. You of all people should know that I _don't _bluff. Dumb. _Ass."_

At this point, Phineas started to wake up. Once he became full aware of his surroundings, he seemed shocked and confused at the sight of one version of his older brother pointing a gun at the other. Ferb saw the opportunity, and seized it.

"Go ahead," he said coolly, daring the other with the tone of his voice. "Kill me in front of Phineas. Scar him for life. If you think you can"

That clearly worked. F almost instantly lowered his gun, yet did so very angrily. Ferb ran to his terrified brother, dragging Vanessa to keep her within a safe distance.

F growled. "You don't know what you're doing. Just by keeping her safe…. You're putting the entire world in jeopardy."

Ferb turned around and made a face as if to say 'Do I look like I particularly _care_?'

"You obviously don't get it," F groaned. "She's the one responsible for almost killing Phineas, you _moron._"

Ferb gasped, looking up at Vanessa with a look on his face like his own mother had risen from the grave and stabbed him.

Vanessa shook her head, waving hands franticly and looking from the younger to the older Ferb repeatedly. "No, no! You've got it all wrong, I would never… It's a mistake!"

"Right," said F, voice dripping with bitter sarcasm. "Then who else went back in time disguised as your father, telling him exactly what to do to take over the world, just so you could take his empire from him?"

"Hell, not me!" Vanessa defended, crossing her arms. "I don't do the evil thing. I'm a _cop._ Besides, what's with all the detail? I mean, how did you know-"

"About the time travel?" F narrowed his eyes. "You told me. You wanted to see how easy it would be to _break _me." he sighed. "As it turns out, I was already beyond repair. There's no use in smashing a shattered glass."

"I wouldn't do that!" cried Vanessa. "NEVER!"

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because _I _have a brother your age," she answered.

F frowned. "That's a lie. You're an only child."

Vanessa shook her head, wrapping her arms around the present-day Ferb. "It's no lie. _You are. _And even if, hypothetically, I did go evil, I would _never _do anything to hurt you. You have to believe me."

After a long silence, F sighed. "I'm leaving."

Phineas started to stop him. "Ferb-"

F stopped, then turned around, glaring at Vanessa. "I will _never _believe you." He left.

Ferb got up.

"Where are you going?" asked Vanessa.

Ferb half-smiled. "To perform acts of self-mutilation." With that, he walked out.

"So you're the Phineas I've been hearing about?" Vanessa asked to break the ice.

Phineas nodded. Then he stopped, puzzled. "Who are you again?"

Vanessa chuckled. "I'm Vanessa. A friend of your brother's."

"Apparently not in 10 years…"

"Yeah." The brunette sighed, then smiled. "Your name's come up in conversation a lot."

"He talks about me?"

"More like rambles. On. And on. And ON." She sighed. "I can barely get him to open his mouth, and when he does, at least HALF of what the kid says involves you some way or another."

Phineas was a little surprised. "Really?"

Another pause.

"Why does he think you're, like, the daughter of the devil or something?" Phineas asked.

Vanessa sighed. "I don't know. I promise you, kid. I know we just met and everything, but-"

"I know you're not evil," Phineas agreed. "I can tell." He looked at the ceiling in thought. "So… What DID happen?"

0-0-0

Up on the roof, Ferb stood unnoticed be his older self.

"_Why _are you smoking?" he demanded.

F blinked, only just aware of the younger male. He sighed.

"It's stupid," said Ferb coolly.

"I remember saying that, too. Before everything went to hell." F looked out to the city. "Come to think of it, I remember saying that about a lot of things once. Killing was stupid. Revenge was once meaningless, was it not? Now it's the only reason I have not to just give up and end it all."

Ferb rolled his eyes. "Whatever. And stop whining. That's the stupidest of all."

"Whining?" asked F. "_Whining? _Live for a _day _in my hell, then you can accuse me of whining!"

Ferb was silent. F continued.

"You're a foolish _brat._"

"And _you're _a bitter old man."

F sighed, lightening up. "We're a sad pair, aren't we?"

"And that's why we have Mr. Sunshine as a stepbrother."

F smirked turning to his former reflection. "And I'm not old. I'm only 30."

"Right, sorry. Not old. _Ancient._"

They both laughed.

"You know, what I _should do…_ is just pick you up and throw you as far as I can off the edge of this roof."

"Creative suicide."

0-0-0

"_He… went missing a few days before we came here," Isabella started softly. His older self was silent. "His body was never found, so… maybe…"_

_I'm… Sorry._

"Jeez, are ya gonna just mope on the couch all day, or what?" asked Buford sighing.

No response.

"You ain't sick. There's nothing wrong with you, but you're still actin' like a freakin' emo!" He groaned. "I'm the one with problems here! I don't even know if I'm gonna live past 30!"

No response.

"Okay! Time to GET THE HELL UP." He grabbed Baljeet's wrist…

…only to get bitch-slapped.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

Buford could now easily see tears streaking down his friend's face.

"…"

0-0-0

Perry sat, motionless, on a hospital bench. He was told to stay put, and that was what he intended to do. He hadn't made a good pet for nothing.

Every now and then, a nurse would come and ask him if he needed anything, but he didn't answer them. He couldn't, not verbally anyway, having been without the ability to speak since early childhood, and he didn't acknowledge them. That had creeped most of them out.

It wasn't until a familiar voice, a voice that he hadn't heard in years echoed into his ears, that he turned to face the speaker.

"Perry… the _platypus_?"

**OOOOOOOH! XD Three guesses.**

**ADVENTURE TIME WITH SEBASTIAN AND STAN**

**Part Three**

"Yuppp…" Sebastian nodded. He looked around. "Stan?"

He grew mildly scared upon finding himself alone, in a remote part of the hospital.

"Uhhh… Hello?" Sebastian called. "Hello? Hey!"

He noticed a small, blond girl in a hospital gown a few feet away.

"Do you know where we are?"

The girl started walking away.

"Hey! Don't just leave! Come back!" He followed her.

Eventually it got to a point at which Sebastian managed to catch up. "Do you know where the exit is?"

The girl turned around. She was covered in blood with a smile on her face, a scalpel stuck in one eye. "Here." She disappeared.

Sebastian saw that as a perfect time…

…to run like his ass was on fire.

He ran straight into Stan. "Hey, where were you?" asked Stan.

Sebastian clung to his brother. "Scaryyyy..!"

(FOR MORE ON THEIR EPIC SAGA, STAY TUNED)


	14. The Dark Machine

**I'm sleepy…. -_-**

**So, uh… Thanks for the reviews and… stuff… orz**

**Sunsetofdoom-neesan wrote something to go with this chapter. With her permission, I'd like to put it up as the bonus chapter. THE bonus chapter, by the way.**

Neither of them said or did anything for awhile. Perry eventually turned to look at the person, although he already knew who it was.

Somehow, though, he looked older than when they last "spoke". Had Doofenshmirtz really aged that much in the last few months?

The man nodded. "I see. Then you've reversed the effects…"

Perry glared at him. He had no idea what his nemesis was doing at the hospital where his child… _almost _his child, he reminded himself… was staying, but he didn't care. He knew a threat when he saw one, and he was looking at one right at that moment.

"Calm, yourself, Perry the non-Platypus," said Doofenshmirtz. "I've actually come to ask you for help. You see, I am from the future, and…"

Perry rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

"Okay, you're… You're not buying it, are you? That's okay, too. Because I have proof."

Perry was still unimpressed.

At that moment, the two Ferbs walked in, fully expecting to see only Perry. F blinked for a moment, then frowned.

"Ah, Agent F!" said Doofenshmirtz. "How nice to see you here… But what are you doing in the past?"

"Well… If it isn't the King of the Waste," scoffed F. "If you must know, I'm fixing your errors."

Dr. D chose to ignore the last statement. "See? He can vouch for me! I had a PowerPoint made, but… you know, this works too! Oh, is that yourself in the past? Look at you! You were so young and…"

Ferb made a face. Was he for real?

"Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked."

"You're damn right," said F. "What are you doing here? And anyway, I thought you were dead."

"No, no," replied Dr. D. "I was just locked away."

F smirked. "By who? An asylum. About bloody time."

"By Vanessa."

Ferb growled. "Will you all stop saying that? There's no way that Vanessa would EVER do anything you all CLAIM that she did, so-"

"She didn't."

Group pause.

Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "Or, at least, not the real Vanessa."

F raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you saying?"

"Let me explain. I was working on an AI unit that would assist me in the ruling of the world, since… Vanessa wouldn't help me. And it was very good at its job, too. Until…"

"Until?"

The man sighed. "One day, it decided that I wasn't _fit _to be its master. It took on the form of Vanessa, and even had me fooled, until it locked me in my own basement. I just now managed to escape, but… I still have no idea what it did with Vanessa."

F sighed. "Right. And now I suppose a flock of sheep are going to run by-"

At that moment, as if to prove a point, at least twenty white sheep ran past them, causing Perry and Ferb to stare in shock.

"…Alright, sheep. But what about-"

A llama jogged by, struggling to keep up with the sheep.

"…"

"…You were going to say llama, were-"

"Yes. Never mention this again."

"Right."

"…Was that Sebastian?"

F shook his head. "ANYWAY. You're coming with me. All three of you."

"Where are we going?"

"Doofenshmirtz Evil, Inc."

Ferb sighed. "And I don't suppose you're planning on telling me what that is, either."

"You'd be right."

"Of course."

0-0-0

"Ohhh, you two are back?" asked the present Doofenshmirtz.

F sighed. "We're here to use your time travel device-"

"Time travel-_inator_," he corrected.

"Yes, inator, whatever. We're using it."

"You know… You could say please…"

"I know!" said a voice. "He's so RUDE! Even in the future!"

Doofenshmirtz blinked to see who it was. "Is that…" he gasped. "It IS! Future me! Are you back so soon?"

"Back?" Future D asked. "What do you mean back? I just got here."

Present D frowned. "No you didn't. You were here about two weeks ago. You told me to build the Destroy-everything-in-sight-inator."

"Oh no…" F sighed. "Vanessa..."

Ferb glared at him. "_Not _Vanessa," he corrected.

"Oh, so you're believing him, a deranged evil scientist, over an older, wiser version of _yourself_?"

"No, I just highly doubt that Vanessa would-"

"Uh…"

The two turned, obviously irritated from being drawn from their argument. "WHAT?"

"May I ask what you two are talking about?"

F sighed. "I can't believe I'm about to ask this… Would you ever plan to build an evil robot to help you rule the world?"

"Actually…" said Doof, thinking it over. "I was just working on one of those."

"…What?"

0-0-0

"Well… We have to go get them eventually."

Vanessa nodded. "One of these days. Where do you think they'd be?"

Phineas shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then…"

"Let's go find him. Them. Uh…" Phineas nodded. "Yeah." He started to get up.

"Whoa, wait," said Vanessa. "Should you be getting up?"

"I _feel _okay…" Phineas blinked. "So… what's the problem?"

Vanessa sighed. "Your brother's going to have a bitch fit when he finds out about this… Okay. Just… take it easy."

"'kay."

0-0-0

"So… I should destroy the AI?" asked Doof after having the entire situation explained to him.

"That _would _be the best idea," Ferb stated, with Perry nodding beside him.

"If we destroy it in the present…" Doof started.

"…then the future will be repaired, and not only that, but none of this will have ever happened," F finished. "Of course."

Future Doof nodded. "That… Just might work."

"But don't think that means that I won't be working on a new evil scheme _next _week!"

"Of course," sighed F.

"So we'll destroy the robot from the present-"

"Sorry, but I deem that _impossible_."

They all looked up to see a brunette woman in her mid thirties dressed in a tight black trench coat.

"Vanessa?"

"No…" said Ferb. "You're _not _Vanessa. Are you?"

"You're the AI."

The woman let out a sharp laugh. "Well, then. You've finally figured it out. Good for you!"

F glared at her… _it._ "We're going to destroy you. It's all over."

"I would advise against that." The machine smirked. "That is, if you want your darling Vanessa to live."

F grabbed it by the collar, raising it a good few inches off the ground to meet his own height. "Where are you keeping her?"

"Where?" It giggled. "My system is directly linked to her brain. Destroy me, and you kill her."

"Damn you…"

At that moment, the Doofs snuck off to find the machine and dismantle it.

F threw the machine against a wall, to have it lay there for a few seconds. "Get the fuck up," he commanded. He kicked it a few times, with no response. He turned around, deciding that it was over.

Suddenly, a metal tentacle shot out from the machine, missing F by mere inches.

"Now now… It won't do to make a lady wait, will it?"

Then the fight was on.

0-0-0

"This place is your dad's?" Phineas asked.

"Yeah…" Vanessa sighed.

"So… You were the ever-ominous SHE…"

"Huh?"

"Oh… Never mind." Phineas stopped walking, wincing slightly. "Ow…"

"You okay?" asked Vanessa.

Phineas nodded.

"You're sure?"

Another nod.

"Because I am NOT getting chewed out by _John Lennon _if you get hurt. Capiche?"

"Capisco."

"…."

Innocent blink.

Vanessa sighed. "Okay then."

0-0-0

Perry tried helping in the fight, but F had already claimed it. It went on for a while, man against wretched machine, without any outside forces. Metal tentacles were springing from the AI, and the other two were constantly having to dodge them for fear of being impaled. It was for that reason Ferb was glad that…

"…Ferb?"

"…Damn it, Phineas…"

Both Phineas and Vanessa were standing there, much to Ferb's irritation.

"What's going on?"

"PHINEAS, GET OVER HERE!"

But it was too late for warnings. Phineas had to narrowly dodge a few tentacles, running to his brother. At one point, he fell, crying out loudly upon impact with the floor. Ferb acted on instinct, dropping on all fours and scurrying like a wild animal over to Phineas.

Phineas was curled into a tiny ball on the floor. Ferb shook him gently by the shoulders. "Hey… Are you alright?"

"Ow…"

'_Ow?' _ In that situation? From _Phineas_? Ferb's heart was gripped with fear. _Not a second time… Please, God, not a second time… _"Are you hurt?"

"A… Maybe-oww...!" Phineas doubled over again, shuddering with the pain. Tears were forming in the corners of his clenched eyelids.

Ferb turned his brother as slowly and gently as possible into his own lap to get a better look at him. What he saw… wasn't exactly pleasant.

All of Phineas's left side was soaked with blood.

Ferb panicked. "What happened? Did you get hit?"

Phineas shook his head. "I-I don't think so…"

Perry fell to his knees next to the other two, along with Vanessa who had caught up.

Vanessa sighed. "I think a few of his stitches came loose when he fell."

Ferb sighed. "Of course…"

"_Please_, Ferb… Don't blame Vanessa. It was m-my idea, and sh… o-ow…"

Ferb shushed his brother. "I'm not mad. You're in pain. That's my focus now." He ruffled the mop of red hair.

F had also been distracted by his brother's injuries, and by turning to look, left himself wide open for the machine to fling him against the wall with a single, slender metal arm. F coughed, spitting a generous glob of red blood, and slumping over, unconscious.

The others took no notice, until they watched the machine turn and charge at them. Ferb cursed under his breath, snatched the gun from Perry's holster (much to _Perry's _surprise), and stood up, challenging the machine.

Its face turned up into a catlike grin, and sent tentacles to meet Ferb. But no one noticed, until it was too late, that it had changed their direction to point at Phineas.

**Ooooooooh-*shot by Ferb* **

**Me: WHY DID I LET YOU HAVE A GUN?**

**Ferb: *shrugs* -3-**

**Me: GAH! MY SHOULDER IS BLEEDING!**

**Vanessa: Shut up and take it like a man.**

**ADVENTURE TIME WITH SEBASTIAN AND STAN**

**Episode 3**

"Brother! Brother!" called Sebastian excitedly, waving his arms in a manner not unlike that of a deranged pelican.

"What what?" asked Stan, turning around…

…and almost immediately wishing that he hadn't. His jaw dropped. "Seb."

"Uh-huhhhh…?"

"WHAT IN THE HELL ARE ALL THESE SHEEP DOING HERE?"

Surrounding them was at least twenty white sheep and one llama.

"I thought we could use them for food…" said Sebastian innocently.

"FOOD?" Stan sighed, placing a hand over his face. "Never mind why. What I wanna know is, who let you let cattle in here?"

Sebastian pouted. "Why won't you let me have sheep, Stan?"

"WHY? This is a hospital!" cried Stan. "You can't let animals go running around in a hospital!"

"I just DID…"

"…What?"

And the entire flock was charging through the hall, knocking over nurses, trying to eat every potted plant in their wake, with the one chubby little llama toddling along behind.

"SEBASTIAN!" growled Stan.

"They have to GRAZE…"

"Go catch them. NOW."

Sebastian crossed his arms. "I don't like your tone."

Stan snapped from his usually calm demeanor, yelling at his brother with the most angry and intimidating face he could have possibly made. "SEBASTIAN OLIVER SCHULTZ IF YOU DON'T GET THOSE SHEEP OUT OF HERE I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD YOU'LL BE BLOWING PIECES OF MY BOOT OUT YOUR NOSE! **IS THAT CLEAR?**"

Sebastian ran to catch up to the sheep without another word.

Stan sighed. He hated yelling at the boy, but sometimes it was the only way to get through to him. Ferb _never _yelled at Phineas. But then again… Ferb also had it much easier than Stan. Phineas was so polite and cute, while Sebastian…

…was the sort of person who would let sheep loose in a hospital.

Stan felt a migraine coming on.


	15. It's Not Okay

**UPDATE! Now, I guess…. Ferb hates me.**

Phineas expected to feel the metal piercing his skin, but it never came. His eyes were clenched shut, from fear. He felt a warm, unknown liquid spray onto his face, and blinked them open.

Then the grim realization of what the liquid was, and where it came from, hit him. Phineas felt like throwing up.

Ferb was standing over him, shielding him from the machine, but at the cost of being impaled himself. Blood spilled onto the spike, from which it dripped, a lot of it landing on Phineas. Somehow, though, he was obviously still alive.

"F… Ferb…"

The AI laughed. "Aww… How touching. Protecting your little brother at the cost of your own life."

Ferb growled. "Stay… away from him…"

"Now, I don't think you're in any position to make commands…" Another long, deranged laugh. "Now… Be a good boy and die, won't you?"

Ferb spit blood in its face. "No." He raised the gun to where its heart would be.

The machine frowned. "You're resorting to that?"

He pressed the gun further, about to pull the trigger.

The machine, however, knew just how to make him hesitate, pulling on every emotion Ferb had.

For it put on the appearance of his brother.

"Please, Ferb…" it begged, with that same, pitiful little face that had never, over the course of twelve years, failed to melt Ferb's heart and make him give into _anything_.

But now, it filled him with nothing but hatred. "How DARE you?" Ferb shoved the gun against the AI's chest, enough to hurt a human. Phineas squeaked, as though he himself had been the one hit. Ferb was confused, and the AI started to laugh.

"If I get destroyed, your brother dies. My system is connected to his body, directly. So anything that happens to me, happens to him."

Ferb froze. "N…no…" His hands shook so badly that he almost dropped the gun. Until he heard a voice from behind him.

"Ferb! Just do it!" Phineas cried. "Once it gets destroyed in the past, it won't matter anyway!"

Ferb let out a long sigh. "I… I can't do it…"

The AI laughed. "I thought so."

Ferb tossed the gun to Perry, and looked away. "Do it."

Perry nodded, and fired a round into the AI. Its disguise flickered, and went away to reveal a metal droid like the small ones from the future. It smoked from the places where the bullet hit it, and fell to the ground with a large thud. Ferb hissed from the pain of the tentacle ripping halfway out of him, leaving all but the tip. He pulled the rest out, wincing, and fell.

Perry tried to go and help him, but almost as soon as he moved, Phineas's breathing became heavier… labored. Sweat was beading on his forehead. Blood dripped from his chin, onto his clothes. And the AI certainly hadn't been lying.

Damnit.

Perry was stuck.

"I've got him," said Vanessa. "Go see what you can do."

Perry nodded.

Ferb's condition was critical. He was rapidly losing blood, unconscious, and only minutes away from death. Perry knew that Phineas needed him, so…

He decided to give Ferb those pills.

They were tablets invented by the agency that would reverse most bodily damage. They were created to allow agents to keep going on missions, even if they were injured. And they were for EMERGENCIES ONLY. Perry had been afraid to use them on Phineas, fearing that their power would do more harm than good.

However, they didn't have enough power to completely heal Ferb. Still, they would keep him alive at least long enough to be there for his brother.

But he would have to be awake to take them. Perry shook Ferb, snapping in front of his face a few times. And eventually he woke up.

Ferb groaned as Perry shoved the pills in his face. "What're those?"

It was very obvious that Perry wasn't going to let him go without them any longer, and so he let him shove them down his throat.

Almost instantly, his condition improved at least a little. He was still on the verge of death, but at least he had a little longer.

Ferb snapped into attention, and crawled over to his brother. "Phineas…"

Phineas smiled weakly. "Hey… You okay?"

"Are _you_?"

His smile faded. "I… I don't… think so…"

Ferb stroked the side of his brother's face and sighed. He looked into those sapphire eyes, rapidly losing their spark, shaking his head in defeat. "I don't think so either."

Phineas sighed, smiling apologetically. "But… That's okay. Once the past gets fixed-ow…!"

"You're being very strong."

"_I _wasn't run through with a metal… thingy."

Ferb laughed to himself. Phineas was much, much smaller than him. Not just shorter, but physically tiny. Yet he showed more strength than many adults would be able to in this situation.

Suddenly, Ferb felt extremely dizzy from the blood loss. But he _couldn't _die. Not yet. Not first. He decided to lie down on his side next to Phineas, wrapping his arms around the little redhead. Phineas turned over on his side, snuggling into his brother's chest.

"…I don't… know how much… longer I c-can…"

Ferb sighed. "It's alright. Go ahead and let go. I'll be right behind you."

And so the brothers simply faded away in each other's arms, right there on the linoleum floor, as though no one or nothing else in the world mattered.

But it would all be alright when the world reset.

…Or would it?

**No note, no Sebastian and/or Stan. That was too damn sad.**


	16. As I Lay Dying

**No real note. 'Kay then.**

Ferb's POV

_I love you. I've loved you ever since the first moment we met._

…_No homo, of course._

_You know that I would do anything for you. Anything. _

_In fact, I was more than willing to give my life for you. _

_But in the end, none of that really mattered, did it? We were both doomed from the start._

_Still… It was better to be together in the end, than to die alone. Without you._

_You buried yourself in my chest, both covered in blood. You were warm. I was determined to stay awake, and alive, until you at least stopped breathing. I stayed with you, didn't I? You needed me, so I held you close. I'm still holding you._

_You died in your sleep. Did you know that?_

_If you can know anything anymore._

_I would be sad. I would be sobbing, screaming, cursing at the world, under any other circumstance._

_But I know that I'm not far behind. I don't have to miss you for long. To me, you're little more than sleeping._

_I would apologize for letting you die. But in a way, it would be cruel to leave you this way. I'm glad you never had to feel the way I do, from losing you._

_I would wonder why you didn't stay at the hospital, where you were safe, but in a way… it doesn't really matter any more._

_I'm glad that you're not in pain any more. I'm glad that you're here, in my arms, and that I was with you in the end._

_But still…_

_That doesn't stop me from pining for the way things were._

_And even though you can't hear me… or maybe… you CAN…_

_I won't apologize, because that wouldn't change anything. I can't offer any hollow promises that everything will be alright, because it can't, can it? I won't even say goodbye, because we'll definitely meet again, some way or other. Hell… If the world resets, I won't need to say anything._

_But I will say this. I'm glad that we became brothers. I'm glad that I was able to know you for so long._

_And my last request is this:_

_Wait for me._


	17. White

**This is happy, I swear. I swear. I swear by my brother's life. If I'm lying, then you can shoot him in the face. (just kidding, but it IS happy)**

The wedding was nothing less than extravagant, as Candace had fought tooth and nail for. She had even let her brothers sing, as the only way they were allowed to help (because she _absolutely _did _not_ want to risk having a chicken cake). Of course, under the condition that she got to pick the song.

And Candace (of course) assigned them, Isabella, Buford, and Baljeet to their own table, for fear of them 'weirding out' anyone she knew (and it was for that reason that Ferb had made a mental note to do just that if he got the chance, if only to spite her).

The brothers sat at the table, more or less alone. Buford was off in space, happily nomming on a chicken leg, and Baljeet was reading something under the table. In any case, neither of them were listening to them at all.

"So…" Phineas started. "…You can remember it too… right?"

Ferb nodded.

"But… technically none of it ever happened," Phineas continued. "So… Why do we remember it? I mean… We're still alive, you never went back in time, none of it even happened. But still, it's like it DID. Why do you think that is?"

Ferb looked up, in thought, then answered. "Well… Perhaps remembering it reminds us to live every day like it's our last. _Carpe dium_… And all of that."

Phineas jumped up. "Oh yeah! That reminds me… There's… something I have to do."

Isabella was on the dance floor, talking to Candace. She was wearing a flowing, glittery pale pink dress, and her hair had been pulled back with a matching pink ribbon. She was beautiful.

Without any warning whatsoever, Phineas went up and kissed her.

It lasted for a good minute or so, and when Phineas pulled away, Isabella was stunned. Her face was bright red, her lips were moving at least ninety miles per hour, but she said nothing. After a few seconds of this, she finally fainted.

"I…Isabella?"

Ferb had to fight the urge not to laugh out loud as he watched the frantic display of Phineas desperately trying to wake up Isabella, only to have her faint again several times from him being too close. It was hysterical.

0-0-0

"Oh, man… You _didn't_…"

"Of course I did. I'm rather proud of the shot, actually…"

"I can't believe you took a picture of it!"

"What good brother _wouldn't_?"

Phineas laughed. "I wonder if Izzy's mad at me for catching her off guard like that."

"I guess we'll find out when she wakes up."

Perry walked beside them happily, not contributing to the conversation, but finding it funny.

The way that the agency had handled Perry's change in species was very elaborate, but it was efficient. They had reprogrammed everyone who knew them into thinking that he was Ferb's biological brother. Since they technically hadn't discovered Perry's secret, the boys' memories were messed with as well, but they still knew, of course. Perry, strangely, hadn't kept any memories of that day, as he shouldn't have. It was probably better that way.

The world could be exactly as it was always meant to be. Phineas and Ferb would spend every day in the summer doing something spectacular and physically impossible, but this time, their brother, Perry, would leave during the day, to go to "work". But no one would question it, because no one was supposed to question it. And every now and then, Candace would drop by, if only to try once more to get them in trouble.

Things were normal again.

Or… as normal as they really had ever been.

0-0-0

_In the same dream, Phineas was lying once more on the ground, bleeding._

_But this time, Ferb refused to just sit back and do nothing. He struggled against his invisible chains, fighting them with all of his strength, until they finally broke. He rushed to his brother's side and picked him up, cradling him in his arms._

_Almost immediately, Phineas closed his eyes, smiling, as if relieved, and his injuries disappeared all at once._

_It would then turn to a white world. Ferb was a child again, and so was Phineas. Their hands touched, and the dream was over, never to be had again._

**Okay, that was the most clichéd thing I've EVER typed. But I've had it in mind from chapter three, so BEAR WITH ME.**

**Stay tuned, if you will, for the EPILOGUE.**


	18. Rabbit

**Kay. This is the EPPPPILOOOOGUE! Leading to a sequel….. ish. Not a DIRECT sequel, but a follow up in the same universe. But it will be rated M, so if you wanna read it, you'll have to look on my profile. No finding it just by chance, unless you wanna shuffle through more lemons than a fruit stand. -.-**

Perry had easily grown accustomed to his new life.

He still had two sides: One, the every day, lazy Perry who wandered about the house aimlessly around the house like a ghost and slept a lot (his cover), and the true him, stealthy, badass, short-tempered Agent P.

And another thing would never change. The most important thing to Perry was, and always would be, his family, and especially his little brothers. He knew and loved everything about them, from the fact that Phineas found the word "nougat" funny for whatever reason and was neither sensitive about or even that aware of the fact that he still looked like a little boy even at fifteen, to the fact that Ferb always got secretly pissed off whenever anyone mentioned his eyebrows and would never stop wearing purple, no matter how many times Buford called it a "girl color".

Those two were Perry's life, as they had been for a very long time, so long that Perry considered them more like sons than brothers, despite his young age. If anything happened to either one of them… Perry refused to even think about it.

"Perry! Look!" Phineas called.

Perry was snatched into attention by his brother's voice, and moved to where he, Ferb, and a small gaggle of their friends were standing.

"Hauu! It's so cute!" squealed Isabella. "I wanna take it home with me!"

"Why don't you?" asked Phineas.

Isabella sighed. "There's no WAY my mom would let me keep it. Anyway, I already have Pinky."

Phineas turned. "Oh. There you are, Perry." He beamed. "Look at what we found!"

Perry stared down in curiosity. At his feet was a fluffy, snow white bunny rabbit. It started nibbling at his feet, and he jumped back.

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Perry couldn't help but to feel uneasy. The last time that anyone in their house had found a white rabbit… Things weren't exactly pleasant.

Buford glanced around, then whispered to Perry cautiously. "I don't trust him either."

"Buford," sighed Baljeet, "Are you still afraid of bunny rabbits?"

Perry rolled his eyes.

"I DONE TOLD YOU, THEY'RE IN LEAGUE WITH THE GINGERS!"

Ferb picked the bunny up and held it in Buford's face. "Bunny."

"AAAAHH!"

Phineas made a sad face. "How could you be afraid of bunnies?"

"Like THIS." Buford made a terrified face.

The rest of the group sighed.

Ferb looked down at the rabbit he was currently holding, and without warning, placed it on Perry's head.

Isabella squeaked. "Cute!"

"…"

0-0-0

That night, after Perry was sure that everyone else was asleep, he took out an old faded photograph of two teenage boys, one with teal hair and one with white.

The teal-haired one was obviously himself, grinning like a fool, while the other boy had him in a headlock, grinning as well, possibly even wider.

Why did things have to change? Perry sighed. As much as he hated the other now, a small part of him wanted things to go back to the way they once were.

_Are you… Still out there?_

_Ivan…_

**ADVENTURE TIME WITH SEBASTIAN AND STAN**

**The Final Chapter**

"Okay, Sebastian," Stan sighed. "You've dragged me all around this flipping hospital, annoyed me half to death, and even brought SHEEP in here. I think it's time to go home."

"WAIT!" Sebastian cried. "LOOK!"

"What-" Stan cut himself off. "Oh my God… Is that…?"

"It is…"

"I don't believe it…"

There right in front of them was the room they'd been searching for. They ran like madmen to it, only to find…

…that it was empty.

Sebastian's grin faltered slightly. "…"

"Where are they?"

Their entire quest had been for nothing. They both cried.

"NOOOOOO~!"

**Poor them.**

**Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing all of this. I appreciate it.**

**Cookies go to my reviewers, who are too numerous to mention. To dragonaqua, who is mah buddy. To Lancelot Varianter, who is my accomplice in the kidnap of the sun. To CielTea, who (LITERALLY) poked me with a stick until I agreed to do a sequel. To sunsetofdoom-neesan, who NEEDS to update. To TheFraggable74, with her beautiful, wonderful long review. I honestly had no idea you guys liked this so much, and her review made me giggle and blush like a young schoolgirl… AT WORK, thus causing my manliness to go into question in front of my BOSS (who happens to be the lovely CielTea's father… In a word: DAMN. DX)**

**The names of the chapters were first the names of insects in Japanese…. Then I realized that first of all, I don't know the names of that many animals PERIOD in Japanese, only phrases and such… Also, I absolutely HATE even the very word "insect" after being cruelly forced to collect thirty of the bastards for a science project. IN ONE MONTH. When it was too cold for them to be OUT. DX**

**Then they of course were the names of Vocaloid songs. Some of them fit, PERFECTLY well (and those I actually kept, such as 'Daughter of Evil' and 'Summer Day'). But as various those songs are, there really aren't enough moods to express EVERYTHING. For instance, the chapter in which the brothers died, 'It's Not Okay', was almost named for the Len Kagamine song '6 9'.**

**First of all, that sounds vulgar. For those of you who know why… My heart and prayers go out to you. =.=**

**I have NO clue why that beautiful, meaningful song has such a name… It's about a Len dreaming about Rin being very ill, and nearly paralyzed, but he's still just happy to take care of her.**

**I dunno… Maybe it's a Japanese pun? Let's see… Six is 'Ro', nine is 'ku'. Unfortunately that sounds like the box that allows me to stream Netflix over my TV…**

**HOWEVER. In the number system associated with ITEMS… 'Mu' and 'kyuu'**

…**.**

**MUKYUU~!**

**Ahem. Sorry. A bad **_**Yandere no Onna no Ko **_**reference… Yumemi's like the creepy, homicidal little sister you never had.**

**So... Like I said earlier, look on my profile for the sequel, it's the only M rated one.**

**Live long and prosper.**

**-Tallest Phoenix (Johnny Pirozoeth)**


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